Uncovering The Truth About Diabetes Management

Uncovering The Truth About Diabetes ManagementAccording to a study carried out and funded by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, more and more people are getting to grips with their diabetes and meeting their recommendations for the management of their disease.

Publishing in Diabetes Care journal, the report showed that between 1988 and 2010, the percentage of people who were reported to either meet or exceed the three measures that show they are managing their condition well rose from just two percent to around 19 percent.

Each of the three measures that are included in the overall goal showed improvement, with over 50 percent of patients meeting each goal by 2010.

The three measures that are looked at for the purposes of this study are A1C, which looks at blood sugar/glucose for the period of three months prior to the assessment, plus blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is sometimes known as the ABC measure of diabetes management. When people’s measures fall out with the healthy, prescribed limits, they are far more vulnerable to some of the dangerous and debilitating side effects of diabetes, such as stroke, heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and amputation.

Although this improvement in management rates, obviously with just 19 percent meeting all three goals, the room for improvement is vast. Continued care is needed to help support those with diabetes manage their condition as well as possible, particularly in minority groups or in the very young. These two groups were shown to have the poorest rates of diabetes management across the board.

Some of the improvements can be attributed to the improved use of drugs, such as statins now commonly being used to lower cholesterol in people with diabetes. Some can be attributed to improved healthcare and support, with patients being supported to look after their own wellness and wellbeing.

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