Diabetes mellitus in Bahrain: an overview.

Bahrain has faced a rapid transition in its socio-economic status, which resulted in great changes both in life-style and in patterns of health and disease. There has been a marked decline in infectious diseases and an increase in chronic diseases. Diabetes mellitus has become one of the most common public health problems in the country. In 1988 it was estimated that 3.4% of total deaths in Bahrain were due to diabetes. A community-based study among mothers aged 18 to 48 years showed that 8.5% of them had diabetes. The percentage was found to be higher among elderly Bahrainis (12.9%). Obesity, lack of physical activity, alteration in food habits, and change in social conditions have all played a vital role in the changing prevalence of diabetes in this country. The current programmes to manage and control diabetes are limited and ineffective. Thus measures to treat diabetes should be given a high priority in the national health policy. Training of physicians in the management of diabetes, public education, epidemiological surveys, and nutritional evaluation of local foods are among the most important measures needed to control diabetes in Bahrain.