Nigeria – Importance of Foot Care Spelt Out
Increased mortality in patients living with diabetes who have had to undergo limb amputations is well documented, yet Podiatry is often seen as a ‘Cinderella’ part of a health service with limited numbers of practitioners in some countries. Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to foot and ankle surgery where effective management of limb […]
Sudan – Impending Health Disaster Predicted
Strike action by doctors, that would be unprecedented in many western health care systems, is being carried out in sheer frustration at medicine shortages, lack of funding, insecurity and what has been described as an “impending health disaster”? The number of COVID-19 cases combined with existing challenges on the Sudanese health care system has gone […]
Canadian Parliamentary Diabetes Champion
Since Indian born Sonia Sidhu MP (Liberal) was first elected to the Canadian Parliament in 2015, she has championed diabetes awareness. She has taken a leading role in the ‘Let’s Defeat Diabetes’ campaign in the country while promoting Private Member’s Bill C-237 that seeks to create a National Framework for Diabetes Her Bill received unanimous […]
News From Around the World Continued: Korea’s Diabetes Treatment Guidelines
Korea’s newly updated diabetes treatment guidelines said physicians should screen diabetes faster, restore blood sugar levels more effectively, and manage blood sugar levels more thoroughly. The Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) released the 2021 Treatment Guideline for Diabetes at its 34th Spring Conference and the fifth Korea-Japan Diabetes Forum last month. The KDA emphasized the importance […]
New Zealand – Type 2 Tidal Wave
Type 2 diabetes costs the country NZ$2.1 billion a year and one in four Indigenous New Zealand and Pacific islanders will have the disease in 20 years, a report has indicated. This would be a type 2 tidal wave in the opinion of some commentators, igniting the debate for a national diabetes strategy. The report, […]
Congress Holds Hearings on Prescription Drug Pricing
Two Congressional committees have held hearings on the need for lowering prescription drug costs. Issues facing the people with diabetes who need insulin to stay alive or simply assist their control of the condition were mentioned frequently in discussions. Congressional Diabetes Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Diana DeGette gave members an insight into the issues at a […]
News From Around the World Continued: Another Disturbing Diabetes Link for Lawmakers to Consider
There is now convincing evidence that type 2 diabetes is associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease. The recently published research from Queen Mary University, London, has not only concluded this but that it may also contribute to faster disease progression in patients with Parkinson’s. Advocacy Action: More proof of the need to take diabetes […]
News from Around the World: Malaysia’s Diabetes Time-Bomb
Malaysia has the highest prevalence of obesity among adults in South-East Asia. In the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey, 50.1 percent of our adult population was reported to be overweight (30.4 percent) or obese (19.7 percent). Writing in the ‘Malaysian Star’ publication, Professors Dr Moy Foong Ming and Dr Noran Naqiah Hairi and Dr […]
Physical Activity Levels Reduced During COVID-19 Restrictions
Twenty scientists from 14 countries warn of a hidden “pandemic within the pandemic” in two current publications. On the one hand, physical activity levels have gone down significantly, on the other hand, psychological well-being has suffered. The author of both publications, Dr Jan Wilke (pictured, left) from the Institute for Sport Sciences at Goethe University […]
Black Fungus Link to Diabetes
News from India is showing people hospitalised for COVID -19, and particularly those who require oxygen therapy during COVID-19 illness, are at a much higher risk of Mucormycosis, often called Black Fungus. With half of all hospitalisations from COVID-19 in some countries being patients with diabetes as an underlying condition, this is an added risk. […]
COVID-19 and Diabetes
Almost half South African hospitalised COVID -19 patients have diabetes A YEAR of research at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, has determined that people living with diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, are at risk for more severe Covid-19 complications and have a greater chance of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) […]
Half a Billion People with Diabetes and 90 percent Not Receiving Proper Care
A University of Michigan and Brigham and Women’s Hospital study has calculated that ninety per cent of people with diabetes living in low- and middle-income countries do not receive the kind of care that could make their lives healthier, longer and more productive. The US study, published in the journal Lancet Healthy Longevity, showed that […]
Tarantulas Could Offer a New Treatment for Type 2
Set aside your arachnophobia (fear of spiders) if you can, the mighty tarantula could be coming to the rescue of some people with type 2 diabetes. A team of researchers, led by Professor Nigel Irwin at Ulster University and funded by Diabetes UK, have found molecules in tarantula venom could offer a new treatment for […]
WHO Global Diabetes Compact Launched
The World Health Organisation held an international summit in April at which a Global Compact, focussing on setting global coverage targets for diabetes care was launched. A key aim of the Global Diabetes Compact is to unite key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, and, critically, people who live with diabetes, around a common […]
PDGN News
Can PDGN Help You More? You may already have a group and would welcome some extra support from PDGN. Get in touch with our Secretary General Adrian Sanders – [email protected] and find out what we can do. Can We Help You Form A Group? If you can persuade a few colleagues to join PDGN – […]
Latest Research News
Biomarkers breakthrough in diabetes research https://www.uu.se/en/news/article/?id=16386&typ=artike Belly fat diabetes warning sign for middle aged Japanese (and probably all) men. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-01/uosc-mmi012121.php Study into when insulin pump therapy should start in newly diagnosed Type 1 children. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(20)30339-4/fulltext More evidence of link between diabetes and stroke. First results of the DiabetRisk study – Over 8 percent of patients […]
Technology Corner
Teladoc Health and Dexcom have partnered to bring Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology and personalized insights to people with diabetes. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/11/2156095/0/en/Teladoc-Health-and-Dexcom-Bring-CGM-Technology-and-Personalized-Insights-to-People-with-Type-2-Diabetes-at-No-Cost.html According to a new report, Samsung will include an optical sensor for diabetes monitoring on its next Galaxy Watch. https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-watch-diabetes-monitoring-1195471 Part funded by the EU Horizon fund, an academia and business project to develop […]
New Associate Member
PDGN is pleased to welcome the Diabetes Leadership Council of America as an Associate Member. The aims of the DLC are to communicate, educate and advocate for people affected by diabetes. The DLC led 12 national diabetes advocacy organizations to develop a consensus statement on U.S. Health care reform for people with diabetes. You can […]
Associations’ News
News from Associate Members of PDGN – national diabetes associations and other not-for-profits The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) has launched a new campaign to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with type 2 diabetes to re-engage with their diabetes healthcare teams and their diabetes management in 2021. Diabetes Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait […]
Morocco – New Refundable Medications
The Moroccan National Agency of Health Insurance (ANAM) and the Ministry of Health have achieved a new improvement on the health insurance program with 165 new medications that will now be refundable. Morocco has a compulsory health insurance programme. Seventy of the medications are expensive and often prescribed for chronic or severe diseases, such as cancer, […]
News in Brief
Japanese firm predicting 7 per cent increase among people with diabetes requiring a Kidney transplant. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Health-Care/Japan-s-Nipro-pumps-1bn-into-doubling-output-of-artificial-kidneys Patient criticism in Nigeria over high cost of treatment and lack of government policies. https://punchng.com/diabetes-patients-lament-lack-of-govt-policy-high-cost-of-treatment How some young type 1 South Africans successfully campaigned for a health insurer to offer a continuous glucose monitor benefit. A great advocacy example. […]
UK – NICE Evaluation of Dexcom 6
The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has evaluated the Dexcom 6 real-time continuous glucose monitoring system. The innovative aspects are that the Dexcom G6 continuously measures glucose levels using a sensor inserted under the skin instead of routine fingerprick blood glucose testing. Glucose measurements can be shared remotely with carers and […]
More News From Around The Globe: Health Levy Bill Delay
As the country with the fourth highest burden of diabetes, calls have been growing within Pakistan to stop the delays to a proposed Health Levy Bill that proposes to raise taxes on sugary drinks and tobacco. The Bill has been going back and forth between relevant ministries and the tax department. According to the International […]
The Future Today
Example of a telemedicine booth: The development of telemedicine medicine booths has been trailed as a step forward for accessible healthcare in remote areas, but one pilot in Singapore is delivering a service to an urban area. This pilot aims to provide free health screening services, using the latest health technologies, for Singaporeans aged above […]
News From Around the Globe Continued: A Month Without Insulin
The difficulties obtaining insulin, testing strips and medicines are not unique to the Sudanese hospital we reported about in our last issue. The stock of injections for diabetes patients has been exhausted in the Landikotal District Hospital in the Khyber tribal district of Pakistan. Hospital sources reported in the local press have claimed many people […]
Academic Partnership with Diabetes Africa
Nigeria’s University of Abuja has entered into a partnership with Diabetes Africa, to address the dearth of diabetologists and other health care professionals who play a critical role in the study and management of diabetes. The hope is to establish a network of health professionals through a diabetes educational programme aimed at improving the quality […]
Obesity Driving Diabetes Rise
In a Qatar National Reseach Fund study, the gulf state of Oman is facing a rapidly rising diabetes epidemic over the coming three decades. The number of people with diabetes will continue to grow, making it challenging to control if no major preventive interventions are implemented now. It is feared that diabetes prevalence could reach […]
More News From Around The Globe: Rural Type 2 Awareness Campaign
Protecting the Asset that is You is a Type 2 awareness campaign aimed at farmers and their families in Northern Ireland. The campaign uses health messages and signposting pathways to appropriate services for people who live and work in rural areas, people who are often hard to reach and run a risk of missing opportunities […]
WHO Recognition for PDGN V-P
President of the Moroccan Parliamentary Diabetes Group and a Vice President of PDGN, Dr Mustafa Brahimi has been involved in a programme for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases including diabetes, the taxation of sugary drinks and universal health coverage. His work has been recognised by the World Health Organisation in its report: “WHO […]
COVID Sweet Tooth Danger
According to a study of Google searches in the Philippines, people have literally been craving a sweet escape from the lockdown blues. Since the start of the pandemic, e-commerce aggregator iPrice reported that the country’s interest in chocolates and other confections has rocketed. The study recorded the monthly average of Google searches for chocolate treats […]
More News from Around the Globe: Never Too Early
Singapore’s Chief Ministry of Health Scientist, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, believes prevention of diabetes should start from a young age, maybe even before birth. He was reacting to the importance of responding to gestational diabetes that affects one in five mothers in Singapore. It led to his call for screening for the condition in order […]
News from Around the Globe: US Democrats and Diabetes
Newly elected Democrat President Joe Biden faces a host of health care challenges beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Joe Biden’s new administration should be helped by the changed political control within Congress enabling the new President to take federal action on insulin pricing that has been patchy at state level, just 17 out of the 50 […]
NCDs Behind Seven in Ten Deaths
According to the World Health Organisation, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now make up seven of the world’s top ten causes of death. The data covers two decades within the period from 2000 to 2019 and shows an increase from 4 of the 10 leading causes in 2000. The trends indicate the need for greater efforts to […]
Obesity and COVID Severity
The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) (pictured) has highlighted the interconnection of obesity and impaired metabolic health with the severity of COVID-19. In a Nature Reviews Endocrinology article the authors first provide information about the independent relationships of obesity, disproportionate fat distribution and impaired metabolic health with the severity of COVID-19. Then they discuss […]
COVID Diabetes Trigger
On top of this a growing body of research is now suggesting coronavirus could be a trigger for diabetes. In the early months of the pandemic, doctors in China and Italy suggested a link between new cases of diabetes and COVID-19. A study In November last year found over 14 per cent of people who […]
Young Type 2’s At Risk
As many studies have found, the risk of dying from COVID-19 increases with age, however a study by Exeter University has urged caution regarding younger people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers at the UK university found that a 40-year-old with the condition has the same likelihood of a fatal outcome after becoming infected with COVID-19 […]
COVID & Diabetes
Many studies and articles have been published identifying the link between COVID-19 and diabetes in relation to deaths and even the discovery that diabetes can be triggered by the virus. Data from France on COVID-19 patients with diabetes has indicated that one in five die within 28 days of hospital admission. This was the updated […]
Big Support for Sugar Tax in Pakistan
Meanwhile in Pakistan the National Heart Association (PANAH), in collaboration with the Pakistan Health Research Council (PHRC) conducted a poll on complex diseases and mortality caused by excessive consumption of sugary drinks. Preliminary results from Islamabad and its hinterland indicate 72 percent of people support the implementation of a soda tax to help prevent NonCommuni […]
Sugar Tax News: Double Call in South Africa
The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), an NGO, has called on the South African Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, to double the country’s health promotion levy. South Africa introduced the health promotion levy – commonly known as the sugar tax – in 2018. It currently adds about 11 percent to the cost of sugary beverages to help […]
Diabetes – Three times more deadly than COVID
Diabetes claimed around four million two hundred thousand lives last year – three times as many as from COVID-19, yet this news almost goes unnoticed. Diabetes has not been nicknamed ‘The Silent Killer’ for no reason when globally there are over 463 million people who live with the condition. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) warns […]
PDGN News
PDGN Co-Chair John Bowis OBE and Secretary General Adrian Sanders were invited by the Economist Intelligence Unit to be part of an expert panel to look at how integrated health care can reduce costs and improve outcomes. A full report has been published including a scorecard that benchmarks the level of integration of diabetes services […]
Research Corner
Much of the research and studies make for grim reading with the implications for people and health care systems severe. All the more important to seek allies who can share and add force to your advocacy to seek improvements to prevention, encourage early diagnosis, and the best treatments. Britain Healthy lifestyle key to prevention of […]
World Diabetes Day Report continued
Aussies Get Their Socks Off Again Every year there are more than 27,000 hospital admissions in Australia for diabetes-related foot ulcers. Many of these will lead to people having a limb, or part of a limb, amputated. However, a new pathway tool developed by Diabetes Australia and the Australian Diabetes Society, will help health professionals […]
World Diabetes Day Report continued
Kenya A Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre event partnered with the Ministry of Health, Novo Nordisk and Roche was used to highlight the burden of Diabetes in the country and the plight of people living with diabetes. Held at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi the event majored on the role nurses and other health workers […]
World Diabetes Day Report
What you got up to and ideas for next year. Sri Lanka A Sri Lankan home nursing service was at the forefront of advocating this year’ s campaign for World Diabetes Day – ‘Nurses Make the Difference’, by recognising the important work nurses perform. The World Diabetes Day theme aimed to value the crucial role […]
Not Just People with Diabetes at Increased Covid Risk
In a major study in Spain, researchers have concluded that abnormally high blood sugar may worsen outcomes and mortality rates for Covid-19 patients, including those without diabetes. The findings show patients with abnormally high glucose levels were more than twice as likely to die from the virus than those with normal readings. 11,000 non-critically ill […]
Congo First
UK diagnostics innovator Glyconics has won an £85k UK government grant to implement low-cost diabetes screening in developing countries. The start-point is the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has the fifth highest incidence of the condition in Africa. The initial six-month programme deploys Glyconics’ pioneering handheld diabetes screening device backed by grant aid under […]
Aussie Eye Screening Target
A University of Sydney study has found only half of people living with diabetes get recommended eye checks putting them at risk of vision loss and blindness. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age Australians. All people with diabetes are at risk of diabetes related retinopathy which causes damage to the back […]
Malaysian MPs Battle for Bigger Budget
Kuala Kedah MP Dr Azman Ismail and Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir have called for bigger allocations in Budget 2021 to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes. They claim that NCD’s cost the economy nearly RM9 billion ($2.2 billion US) and that over 1.7 million people, or 8 per cent of the adult population, have […]
News From Across the Globe: Irish Court Ruling on Subway Bread
An Irish Court has ruled that the bread used in Subway’s heated sandwiches doesn’t fit the legal definition of bread in Ireland due to its high sugar content. The Country’s Supreme Court ruled in Dublin that with a high sugar content, the sandwich could not be deemed a staple food which attracts a zero Value […]