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AMMAN — Diabetes is the third-leading cause of death in Jordan, according to a recent survey by Gallup.
The survey was issued in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the World Health Organisation; it focuses on people’s attitudes and perceptions of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in particular cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
The survey collected data from across five countries, including Jordan, Colombia, India, Tanzania and the United States. The survey indicated that overall perceptions and experiences of how harmful the five NCDs vary according to disease and country. Diabetes, despite being one of the leading causes of mortality in Jordan, is only viewed as “very harmful” by 36 per cent of Jordanians.
The findings also revealed that cancer is considered as the most harmful of the five diseases, whereas an average of 83 per cent of adults across the five countries perceived this disease as "very harmful." However, heart diseases surpassed cancer as a leading cause of death worldwide.
The latest Health Ministry statistics in the Kingdom showed that NCDs accounted for 78 per cent of all deaths in Jordan, 37 per cent of which of are due to cardiovascular diseases, while cancer accounts for 15 per cent and diabetes 7 per cent.
With regard to diabetes, the survey noted that diabetes deaths have increased by 70 per cent worldwide between 2000 and 2019.
“Over 95 per cent of diabetes cases globally are Type 2 diabetes,” the survey added.
In Jordan, the percentage of people with diabetes and prediabetes reached 45 per cent, according to the latest study by the National Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics.
According to the Gallup website, “the data from this survey is aimed to improve awareness of NCDs through the development of better outreach, and strengthen public knowledge of NCDs”.