Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes by Debbie Young

“It is deeply worrying that such a low percentage of younger people with diabetes are receiving all eight of the vital care processes.

The results for under-40s were “deeply worrying” given the “devastating but preventable complications” that can befall diabetics if signs of declining health are not spotted and treated. Overall, only a tiny proportion of type 2 patients aged under 40 had all eight checks, the audit’s researchers found.Ĭhris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, criticised the NHS for its poor diabetes care. Only 27.3% of type 1 patients in that age group and 40.8% of type 2 sufferers underwent all eight check-ups. The figures were much worse among under-40s. The obesity crisis means that there are now over four million diabetics UK-wide.įewer than two in five (38.7%) of type 1 diabetics underwent all of the eight tests during 2014-15 recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), while fewer than three in five (58.7%) of those with type 2 did so.īoth figures are down on the year before and are also the lowest numbers seen since the HSCIC began monitoring its performance on diabetics in 2009-10. Type 2, where the condition is associated with lifestyle, makes up about 90% of all diabetics, while Type 1 is an autoimmune condition that is not linked to lifestyle. The study, conducted by the NHS’s health and social care information centre (HSCIC), looks at how many of 1.9m diabetics in England and Wales have annual checkups of, for example, their body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and foot health.

Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes by Debbie Young