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Diabetes Study Presents Key Findings for Medical Professionals

Posted by Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis | Wed, May 25, 2016 @ 04:00 PM

The world rate of diabetes has risen nearly 400% since 1980. The World Health Organization's first global report on diabetes reveals that 422 million people in the world — up from 108 million in 1980 — were diagnosed with diabetes in 2014. Type 2 diabetes accounts for the majority of those diagnosed, largely resulting from excess body weight and physical inactivity. Released April 7 for World Health Day, the 88-page report revealed that Type 2 diabetes, once seen only in adults, is increasingly occurring in children and young people.

Number of people with diabetes per region. Page 25

It takes a village...

While no single policy can ensure that all people build the foundation for a healthy life in order to prevent disease, an accumulated effort from medical physicians, policy makers in government, food and medical producers and technicians, civil society and of course people with diabetes themselves can greatly reduce those diagnosed.

“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” said Dr. Chan director-general of WHO. “Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes.”  

Currently, only one in three low- and middle-income countries reports that the most basic technologies for diabetes diagnosis and management are generally available in primary healthcare facilities.

Diagnosing and treating diabetes early is crucial. Improving access to insulin by reducing or subsidizing prices or strengthening the supply chain can certainly improve treatment.

The report identified hospital and outpatient care as the main cost driver of diabetes. It also noted a rise in cost for analogue insulins "which are increasingly prescribed despite little evidence that they provide significant advantages over cheaper human insulins." 

Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented with current knowledge. Nevertheless, dedicated efforts to treat and prevent type 1, 2 and gestational diabetes more than tripled from 2003 to 2013 according to the International Diabetes Federation, resulting in substantial economic losses for global health systems and national economies.

By 2030, member states of the Agenda for Sustainable Development hope to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases — including diabetes — by one third, achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to affordable essential medicines.

The ambitious efforts of those involved will be up against some of the reports dramatic key findings. In the span of 12 years, the percentage of deaths attributed to high blood glucose levels rose in every region worldwide and spiked in the Western Pacific, which includes 37 different countries and about 1.8 billion people, or about a quarter of the global population.  

Percentage of deaths per region due to high glucose related illness. Page 24

Key Findings from WHO's Global Report on Diabetes 

  • In 2014, more than one in three adults over 18 were overweight and more than one in 10 were obese.
  • Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012 and an additional 2.2 million deaths occurred due to high blood glucose, leading to cardiovascular and other diseases. 
  • 43% of these deaths occurred prematurely (before the age of 70) with a majority in low- and middle-income countries. 

Hope lies in knowing that the above reported deaths are largely preventable through adoption of policies to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyles and better detection and treatment of the disease.

The relationship between doctors and patients is crucial to the management and treatment of diabetes as well as the foundation of health that is established early in life through education and intervention to promote healthy lifestyles. 

CrossCheck partners with medical professionals and hospitals to help bridge the financial gap in times of need by offering Multiple Check. This payments solution allows patients to write 2-4 checks to be deposited by medical offices over a 30-day period, guaranteeing payment to the office and treatment for the patient. To learn more about this service, download CrossCheck's free guide. 

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Topics: Medical

Written by Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis

Maria Shayna Tzouvelekis is an Inbound Marketer at CrossCheck in Petaluma, CA.