Editor’s Note - November 2015

Volume 55 - Issue 11 - November 2015

According to the American Diabetes Association, almost 10% of the population—roughly 30 million children and adults in the United States—has diabetes. Another 86 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. It is projected that 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes by 2050.1 

Furthermore, we know that diabetes compounds the risk of other comorbidities. Diabetes nearly doubles the risk for heart attack and death from heart disease. It is also the leading cause of kidney disease and new cases of blindness among working-age adults. Approximately 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage—resulting in impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction, and other nerve problems.1

The estimated national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States totals $245 billion.1

In honor of National Diabetes Month, Consultant360 recently highlighted several articles focused on diabetes:

• New diabetes screening guideline recommendations. For asymptomatic adults, the US Preventive Services Task Force now recommends screening obese and overweight adults (age 40-70) for abnormal blood glucose as part of regular cardiovascular risk assessment.2

• Current metabolic health definitions are misleading. Terms that are based on health, such as healthy obese and unhealthy lean, do not adequately and/or accurately represent an individual’s risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes.3

• Early insulin therapy versus oral therapy for type 2 diabetes? A pilot study of adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes found that early insulin therapy was as effective as 15 months of oral therapy and may improve insulin production more than standard care.4

• Behavioral programs to patients with diabetes offer little benefit. A new study looks into whether behavioral programs and self-management education, especially those without added support, offer benefit for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.5

Sincerely,

Pooja Shah

Editor, Consultant and Consultant360

References:

  1. American Diabetes Association. American Diabetes Month 2015: Messages and Fact Sheet. 2015. http://main.diabetes.org/dorg/adm/adm-2015-fact-sheet.pdf. Accessed October 28, 2015.
  2. Butcher MC. USPSTF updates diabetes screening recommendations. Consultant360. October 27, 2015. www.consultant360.com/exclusives/uspstf-updates-diabetes-screening-recommendation. Accessed October 28, 2015.
  3. Butcher MC. Study: current metabolic health definitions are misleading. Consultant360. October 23, 2015. www.consultant360.com/exclusives/study-current-metabolic-health-definitions-are-misleading. Accessed October 28, 2015.
  4. Potts M. Is early insulin therapy as effective as oral therapy in type 2 diabetes? Consultant360. October 18, 2015. www.consultant360.com/exclusives/early-insulin-therapy-effective-oral-therapy-type-2-diabetes. Accessed October 28, 2015.
  5. Potts M. How beneficial are behavioral programs to patients with diabetes? Consultant360. October 2, 2015. www.consultant360.com/exclusives/how-beneficial-are-behavioral-programs-patients-diabetes. Accessed October 28, 2015.