By Khetam Malkawi

AMMAN - Around 70 per cent of all deaths in Jordan are related to diabetes, a health expert said Monday.

At a ceremony organised by the Jordanian Society for Diabetics to mark World Diabetes Day, Kamel Ajlouni, director general of the National Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, noted that 75 per cent of hospital admissions are due to diabetes.

Ajlouni criticised the government for not giving enough attention to this disease and its complications.

A recent study conducted by the centre showed that 40 per cent of Jordanians suffer from diabetes, which is a leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, heart failure and retinal problems.

The 7,000-person study also indicated that the rate of hypertension among Jordanians is 30 per cent, obesity and overweight 82 per cent, and dyslipidemia, a disorder in the amount of lipids in the bloodstream, 50 per cent.

Ajlouni also explained that diabetes affects sexual performance and the rate of impotence is around 62 per cent among male diabetics.

Also yesterday, Minister of Health Nayef Fayez said that lifestyle and dietary habits are the leading causes of diabetes.

He said that according to World Health Organisation's figures, some 350 million people are currently living with diabetes, a number expected to reach 380 million in 2025.

Experts attending the ceremony stressed the importance of diabetes prevention through exercise and healthy eating, in addition to educating people affected with the disease on how to avoid its complications.