Hypertension is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease and death even in high-income countries. According to the PURE Study, globally only half of hypertensives are aware and less than a fifth controlled. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign to raise awareness and screen for high blood pressure (BP) in lieu of formal screening. United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken part in MMM since its inception and here data from MMM18 are reported. Trained volunteers from 54 sites screened 31 316 individuals from all the Emirates of UAE using convenience sampling. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension, and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The mean age was 36.8 ± 11.4 years and 18 411(59%) were male. Participants of Arab descent were 11 829 (38%) and 11 569 (37%) were South Asian. Mean body mass index was 26.8 ± 5.29 kg/m2. Of those screened, 7 917 (25%) had never had a BP recorded, while 16 892 (54%) had recorded BP in the previous year. After imputation, 6 243 (20%) had hypertension. Of those participants, only 2 540 (41%) were aware and 2 331 (37%) were on antihypertensive medication, of which 61% were controlled. Of all hypertensives, only 23% were controlled. May Measurement Month in UAE expanded significantly compared to 2017. A quarter had never had BP measured and awareness of hypertension low (41%). This opportunistic screening method found a substantial number of adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension.

Materials and methods:We used data from pre-existing datasets and the literature. We identified seven major noncommunicable diseases for which data were available: coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, breast cancer, colon cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma. We estimated the per unit cost (the annual cost of treating each illness for one person) of each disease, multiplied per unit cost by disease prevalence counts to generate disease-specific costs, and then summed across diseases. We calculated the cost of absenteeism and presenteeism by multiplying the gross domestic product per person in the labor force by the loss in productivity from each disease due to absenteeism and presenteeism, respectively, and the prevalence in the labor force of each disease. Results:We estimate that the direct medical costs of seven major noncommunicable diseases in Gulf Cooperation Council countries are $16.7 billion (2019 International $), equal to 0.6 percent of gross domestic product. We estimate that absenteeism and presenteeism due to these seven noncommunicable diseases cost 0.5 percent and 2.2 percent of gross domestic product, respectively.Limitations: Our study does not capture all noncommunicable diseases and does not capture all types of indirect costs. Our cost estimates are particularly sensitive to our assumptions regarding type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The economic burden of noncommunicable diseases in Gulf CooperationCouncil countries is substantial, suggesting that successful preventive interventions have the potential to improve both population health and reduce costs. Further research is needed to capture a broader array of noncommunicable diseases and to develop more precise estimates.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries and place substantial economic burden on the governments and the people. The escalating demand for NCD-related health services takes an enormous toll on health systems in the GCC countries. There is an urgent need to make significant advances in the healthcare infrastructure and develop strategies to overcome the NCD challenge. This review aims to provide the current status of national healthcare systems and national NCD policies in the GCC member countries to highlight the challenges and identify opportunities towards strengthening NCD management and control. The PubMed database, the World Health Organization website and Ministry of Health websites of GCC member countries were searched to identify relevant information. Future strategies and investments in healthcare infrastructure to overcome the NCD challenge include continuing high-level commitment towards multisectoral actions, redesigning healthcare delivery to advance universal healthcare coverage, enabling integration of healthcare services through organizational alignment to maintain care continuum, building the capacity of health workforce, developing effective treatment strategies through research based on local populations, integrating mental health into general public health policy and lastly, establishing reliable NCD surveillance and monitoring programs. Measures to address NCDs must be continued with focus on “health-in-all policies”, “whole-of-government” approach and “whole-of-society” approach.