EndoBridge celebrates fifth year in Turkey

By Sorwar Alam

ANKARA

Endocrine diseases were the focus of the fifth annual meeting of EndoBridge in Turkey’s southern resort city of Antalya on Oct. 19-22.

EndoBridge founding President Dr. Okan Bulent Yildiz said that all problems related to endocrinology, including diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders, thyroid, bone and osteoporosis, pituitary gland, adrenal gland, neuroendocrine tumors, male and female reproductive endocrinology were discussed in the meeting.

Co-hosted by the Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Turkey, Endocrine Society, and European Society of Endocrinology, a total of 473 prominent endocrinologists from 39 countries attended the program where 24 lectures were delivered and 16 interactive cases were studied, Yildiz added.

He said that diabetes, particularly diabetes in females, was one of the most discussed issues at the meeting.

There are 415 million people living with diabetes in the world, that is expected to increase to 642 million by the year 2040, Yildiz said and added, “In Turkey, diabetes among women is 8% more than that among men while pre-diabetes among women is 26% compared with the men.”

“Due to diabetes, more than two million women die every year in the world. The risk of heart disease in diabetic women is 10 times higher. Figure of the diabetic women is expected to increase more than 90% in the next 20 years, especially in the Middle East and Africa.”

“Four out of every 10 diabetic women are in the age of fertility. Every year, 120 million women are found to have a high sugar level during their pregnancy, and half of these women are under 30 years of age”

He highlighted that a significant percentage of diabetes cases could be to prevented with a healthy lifestyle.

The President of the European Endocrinology Association, Dr. AJ van der Lely, also explained the relationship between the brain and the intestine in food consumption.

He said that the brain always controls food consumption.

“Organs in your intestines - such as pancreas and liver- constantly inform your brain about what you have eaten and how sweet, salty or oily you are eating,” he noted.

Lely explained that this new information, these new insights “will help doctors and dietitians fight against the wild spread of non-communicable diseases called diabetes and obesity”.

European Endocrinology Association’s Board Member Dr. Felix Beuschlein was also was speaking on hormone-releasing superficial tumors of the adrenal gland.

He highlighted that adrenal gland hormones caused hypertension.