Department of Medicine

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism

As a medical subspecialty, Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism (DEM) encompasses a wide array of medical disorders including diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes, lipid disorders, obesity, hypertension, and pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreatic, gonadal and reproductive diseases. Many of these diseases, particularly diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, are widely prevalent in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Diabetes Survey, published in 1995 in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), noted a prevalence of diabetes among 16 per cent of adults with a further 9 per cent of adults with impaired glucose tolerance.

The section organizes and conducts regular patient education modules for people with diabetes. These are conducted weekly over the course of a month, to impart basic skills for better understanding and self-management of their disease.

Specialised lipid, obesity, and general endocrinology clinics will also be initiated over the next one to two years. The nutrition clinic is designed to provide nutrition care counseling and non-pharmacologic interventions to patients for management and/or prevention of chronic diseases. The approach is a holistic one involving not only the patient but also other significant people in his/her life. The attempt is to guide the patient towards an optimum nutritional status and a healthier lifestyle that will benefit not only the patient but also his/her family.

Clinical research interests of the Section of DEM focus on effects of diabetes mellitus on local populations and methods of improving delivery of diabetes care. Other areas of interest include disorders of lipids, hypertension and obesity. Currently, the section is participating in many multidisciplinary research projects. The section is collaborating with the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Biological and Biomedical Sciences in community-based interventional and health outcome studies.

The Section of DEM is actively involved in both under-graduate teaching of medical students and post-graduate training and teaching of doctors. Medical students are exposed to DEM training in Year IV. Post-graduate training of two years, i.e. Fellowship in Endocrinology, is offered to doctors who have completed their training and have obtained post-graduate degree in Internal Medicine.

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, Aga Khan University