« US Panel Recommends Exubera inhaled insulin | Main | Stem Cells for Diabetes »
September 24, 2005
'Landmark' Study Points to the Importance of Diabetes Management
In 1993, the decade long Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that individuals with diabetes who aggressively manage their blood glucose levels delay or even avoid the onset and progression of diabetes related complications such as eye, kidney, and nerve diseases.
A new study released by Canadian researchers this week examined 2,473 diabetics "to gain a better understanding of how type 2 diabetes is being treated in Canada in the family practice setting and to explore the level of disease management among Canadian patients."
The Diabetes in Canada Evaluation study, released Tuesday, has found that one out of two Canadians who have Type 2 diabetes do not have their blood-sugar levels and their disease under control, leaving them increasingly susceptible to such complications as heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and blindness.
Another 600,000 may not even know they have the disease because they don’t have any of the traditional symptoms."We were surprised with the findings. Even the recently diagnosed patients had already developed complications such as heart disease and stroke," Dr. Stewart Harris, co-author of a groundbreaking study. "This is a clear indication that we need to do more to help patients aggressively manage this disease."
Dr. Jean-Marie Ekoé, says the clear message of the study is that physicians and patients need to work together to get blood sugar levels to a target and manage other risk factors as quickly as possible.
Any study that is helpful to those suffering from diabetes is much appreciated. However, except for the fact that this "landmark" study focused on Canadians, I don't see the results as remarkably new or surprising.
Less than 12 percent of people with diagnosed diabetes meet the recommended goals for blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol according to a study published in the January 21, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
At the 2004 Diabetes Technology Meeting, Dr. Statish Garg of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, began a presentation on Rapid Acting Insulin Analogs by informing the audience that the average HbA1c for diabetic patients seeing primary care physicians is 9.7% (normal is 3.5-5.5% with less than 6% being acceptable).
The question for the authors of the DICE is what concrete steps can individuals suffering from diabetes take to better manage the disease?
Posted by Diabetologica at September 24, 2005 10:10 AM