More Action Needed on Insulin Access
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report ‘Keeping the 100-year-old Promise – making insulin access universal’ criticises the fact that insulin is still out of reach for many patients. The report lists the main barriers to access being: ● High prices ● Low Availability ● Producers ● Weak Health Systems WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, […]
Advocacy Action on Ukraine
The world has been shocked at the scenes of destruction in Ukraine and the humanitarian tragedy of people fleeing their homes to seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries. Estimates made by the International Diabetes Federation suggest there is a 7.1 percent prevalence the condition in the country, affecting 2,325,000 million people. While some people with the […]
PDGN News: Thanks Guy
PDGN President Guy Barnett has stepped down from the role he was elected to in 2015 to concentrate on his Ministerial responsibilities in the Tasmanian Parliament. He was appointed to the Cabinet in 2016 and is now Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Minister for Resources, Minister for Trade, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Minister for […]
Whole Grains and Economic Costs
Could whole grains reduce the economic impact of type 2 diabetes? That was the subject of a study in Finland that suggest the increased consumption of whole grain foods could reduce the economic costs of type 2 diabetes. Read more At: https://www.aninews.in/news/lifestyle/food/whole-grains-could-reduce-economic-impact-of-type-2-diabetes-study20211025133923
Research Corner: UK – COVID and Diabetes Link
People with diabetes are no more likely to catch coronavirus than anyone else, but, people with diabetes are more vulnerable to developing a severe illness if they do get coronavirus. Latest information has been compiled by Diabetes UK. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/coronavirus USA – Progress Made in Congress Diabetes advocates are thanking Congressional representatives in the US for including in the […]
World News Continued: National Diabetes Register Call
A Senator in the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) has called for progress on the establishment of a national diabetes register in Ireland. Senator Aisling Dolan referred to diabetes being one of the leading causes of death with one in ten people globally living with the condition. Her case to the Seanad is that without a […]
Scotland Rolls Out Check Test on Type 1 Patients
Misdiagnosed type 1 diabetes patients could be freed from the need to take insulin after a new test is rolled out. Scotland will become the first country to offer the C-peptide blood test to all patients who have had a type 1 diagnosis for at least three years. There are about 315,000 people living with […]
WDD reports continued.
Spain – In Valencia, Spain, an annual event marking WDD took place. The V111 Race Walk took place in Alicante on 14 November. Its aim is to highlight diabetes, promote healthy lifestyles. The walk, or run, is over 5 kilometres and starts in the morning from the beach at San Juan. It was carried out […]
World Diabetes Day 2021
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Fredrick Banting, who discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. Cyprus – For WDD the Medieval Castles of Paphos and Larnaka, as well as the Cyprus Museum at Nicosia (pictured), were lit blue. The Cyprus Diabetic Association persuaded the […]
Research Corner
Japan – A new study led by researchers at Shimane University has found small but significantly increased risks of diabetes and sarcopenia, which is loss of muscle and weakness due to aging, among older adults with oral frailty. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/poor-oral-health-linked-to-muscle-loss-and-diabetes Germany – Ten-year study into symptoms of depression in people with diabetes and more importantly for this work, […]
Nutrition Concerns Expressed
UK Members of Parliament on a House of Commons Select Sub-Committee have welcomed a positive review of the UK foreign aid programme’s work on nutrition. But they raised questions about whether those achievements can endure, particularly as the review predicted the Covid-19 pandemic would cause a “huge increase in the number of people facing hunger […]
Artificial Pancreas for NHS Patients
NHS England and NHS Improvement has recently announced plans for a new drive to revolutionise the lives of people with Type 1 diabetes, through provision of stateof-the-art artificial pancreas technology, 100 years after the discovery of insulin. Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) insulin delivery systems automatically balance blood sugar levels by constantly measuring glucose and delivering insulin […]
CGM Devices for Maltese Children
PDGN Co-Chair and President of the Maltese Diabetes Association (MDA), Chris Delicata, reports on the work by the Association working with Malta’s politicians to deliver a project to distribute Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices to children and adolescents under 16 years and living with type 1 diabetes as part of the island’s National Health Service. […]
Research News
Singapore research finds surgery for type 2 diabetes may restore nearly a decade to life expectancy https://www.medwirenews.com/diabetes/surgery-type-2-diabetes-restore-nearly-decade-life-expectancy/19148930 Children with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk for developing neurodevelopment disorders, with the risk greater for those with a high HbA1c, according to a study published in Diabetologia. https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20210316/high-hba1c-in-type-1-diabetes-linked-to-increased-risk-for-neurodevelopment-disorders Austrian/Swiss research finds that consuming moderate amounts […]
Sugar Tax News
Sugar taxes continue to hit the headlines, and whether you have or haven’t advocated for such a measure to try and reduce consumption this study by Rachel Arthur, Elaine Watson, Niamh Michail, Gary Scattergood, Flora Southey takes a look around the globe to at some of the markets where taxes have been introduced or are […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
EGIDE Integrated Care Policy Paper Published
The Expert Group for Integrated Care and Digital Health Europe (EGIDE) – a group of experts supported by Sanofi, whose objective is to enhance chronic disease management through integrated patient pathways and digitalisation of health – presented its Policy Paper on ‘Putting people at the centre – Integrated care for chronic diseases in Europe’. The […]
Research Corner
University of Exeter and Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust research revealed at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2020 on-line event, suggests screening could give two years’ extra type 2 diabetes alert. https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9143/presentation/1514 The findings from a recent study by a University of Buffalo researcher and others could prove to […]
United Kingdom: COVID-19 Greater Risk Among Asians
The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published a report showing Asian people are up to five times more likely to contract Covid-19 than white people. The research also found that more than half of pregnant women with Covid-19 are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and warns that BAME communities could […]
First Audit of FreeStyle Libre
The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) have conducted the first national (UK) audit of one of the increasing numbers of glucose monitoring devices. Studying Abbot’s FreeStyle Libre device they found from 10,000 users across 102 UK hospitals that the system improves control and patient awareness of low blood glucose levels. The report also concludes […]
Heart Attacks Twice as Likely with Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, found that people with diabetes can reduce their risk for heart attacks in half, simply by taking medications designed to prevent them. People with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease compared to people without diabetes. The research results […]
Research Corner
Obesity Risks The study suggests there is a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes by at least 6 times. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200415185837.htm Studies into Diabetes Genes In the largest non-European diabetes genetics study to date that involved 433,540 East Asian individuals from China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and USA, an international team of […]
Scotland: Covid and Diabetes
In the Scottish Parliament, David Stewart MSP made use of his position to ask questions about the correlation between deaths from Covid 19 and people with diabetes. Joe FitzPatrick (SNP), the Minister for Public Health’s reply was: “We know that this is a worrying time for people who live with diabetes. Their safety and the […]
United Kingdom
Body Size Indicator Having a large body size during childhood may increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in later life, particularly when people remain overweight during adulthood. https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/child-body-size-linked-to-risk-of-heart-disease-and-diabetes-in-later-life New APPG Chair Congratulations to Derek Thomas MP (Conservative, St Ives, Cornwall) the new Chair of the UK Parliament’s All Party Diabetes Group. Derek takes […]
Health Care Disparity Evidence Grows
Appalling disparities in health care have been revealed in several recent studies that the Covid 19 pandemic has magnified. The ‘Center for American Progress (CAP)’ has pulled together research from across the USA showing that it is home to stark and persistent racial disparities in health coverage, chronic health conditions, mental health, and mortality. The […]
When Two Pandemics Collide
Evidence is growing that people with an underlying condition of diabetes are the most at risk of death from Covid 19 and that 1 in 10 patients die within a week. As the virus has made its way around the world the amount of data and number of studies have grown. They show the mortality […]
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. Effects of Physical Activity on Type 2 […]
Surge in Diabetes-Related Limb amputations
A study published by Diabetes UK records a surge in toe, foot and leg amputations among diabetes patients. New analysis by Diabetes UK found that there were 27,465 lower limb amputations related to diabetes in England from 2015 to 2018, an increase of 18.3% from 2011 to 2014. Its analysis also shows there were hundreds […]
PDGN News: First PDGN European Parliament Meeting
CAPTION: Some of the attendees around MEP host Jane Brophy with PDGN European lead Claudette Buttigieg and PDGN Co-Chair Sir Michael Hirst. With the help of outgoing UK MEP Jane Brophy on the last day of UK participation in the European Parliament, PDGN held a presentation for Members of the European Parliament to encourage greater […]
Type 2 Breakthrough Treatment
A “breakthrough” treatment plan for type-2 diabetes has been reported in the British press suggesting that the UK National Health Service (NHS) is keen to adopt a new standard of treatment. The course of treatment consists of a liquid diet of 800 calories to be taken as a soup or shake daily for a period […]
4.8 Million in UK With Diabetes
The number of people living with diabetes reaches 4.8 million, people with type 2 diabetes are 50% more likely to die prematurely and Diabetes UK is urgently calling on Government to tackle obesity. New analysis from Diabetes UK shows that 3.9 million people are currently living with a diagnosis of diabetes, and 90% of those with […]
Remember the Other Pandemic
Acknowledgement – https://defeatdiabetes.org/ If every person with diabetes lived in the same country it would be the third most populated on the planet and the numbers continue to grow. It is also a killer. In Europe alone one person dies ever six seconds of a diabetes related condition. The focus is on the Corona virus […]
News From Around the World
Morocco The Moroccan Diabetes League celebrated World Diabetes Day in the city of LAAYOUN in southern Morocco. Advocacy Action: Start planning now for World Diabetes Day 14th November 2020. Malta Thanks to campaigning MPs, an €800,000 investment will see 2,000 Type 2 diabetes patients on the Island, who previously paid for their insulin, receive it free […]
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 in order to seek improvements to prevention, encourage early diagnosis, and the best treatments. Canadian children not being diagnosed […]
PDGN News
Focus on PDGN People – Number One, Co_Chair Chris Delicata PDGN has three Co-Chairs; Sir Michael Hirst, John Bowis OBE and in this edition we focus on Chris J. Delicata. Chris Delicata is actively involved in advocating for the Diabetes cause in his home country and internationally. His eldest son was diagnosed with Type 1 […]
Watching Out for Diabetes!
National Health Service (NHS) England is planning to roll-out a device worn on the wrist to thousands of people who are considered to be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It is part of its Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP), launched in 2016 in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) and the patient group organisation […]
News From Around The World
New Zealand – New Type 2 prevention campaign launched. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2019/07/new-campaign-aims-to-curb-new-zealand-s-type-2-diabetes-problem.html How Goa’s digital approach to diabetes can improve universal healthcare https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/diabetes-in-india-digital-care USA – Type 2 amputations on the rise, a worrying report from the States. https://www.inquirer.com/health/amputation-increasing-diabetes-surgery-insulin-20190616.html Advocacy Action – what is the trend in your country. Can you ask your Government what the estimated cost […]
Pharmacists Helping Type 2 Patients go drug free
In our last issue we reported on the role of pharmacists as partners in meeting the challenge of diabetes. The Pharmaceutical Journal reported last month that pharmacists can help patients with Type 2 diabetes adopt a low-carbohydrate diet and reduce their medicines load, but a policy document published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and endorsed […]
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 in order to seek improvements to prevention, encourage early diagnosis, and the best treatments. New study by Australian researchers […]