World Diabetes Day 2022
November 14, 2022
Diabetes: a major global health issue
Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus) is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood due to deficient production of insulin by the pancreas or ineffective tissue responses to insulin.
It is one of the most rapidly growing global health emergencies, with the latest figures from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Atlas indicating that 10.5% of the world’s population (around 537 million people aged 20–79 years) are currently living with diabetes. This number is predicted to rise to 643 million (11.3%) by 2030 and to 783 million (12.2%) by 2045.
Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of a range of health complications (including cardiovascular diseases, kidney failure, retinopathy, and peripheral neuropathy). It is a major financial burden for healthcare systems and caused around 6.7 million deaths worldwide in 2021. Early diagnosis, rapid treatment, and access to ongoing care and management support are essential for preventing complications, and improving the outcomes and quality of life of patients.
Word Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is an annual campaign, aiming to raise awareness about the growing health threat posed by diabetes, and highlight the key issues and actions needed to confront the disease. Originally created by the IDF and the World Health Organization in 1991, WDD is held every year on November 14: the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who along with Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1922. This year marks 100 years since the first person received an injection of insulin as a successful treatment for diabetes!
The current theme for WDD campaigns (running from 2021-2023) is Access to Diabetes Care, with a focus in 2022 on Education to Protect Tomorrow, highlighting the need for better access to education for both healthcare professionals and for people living with diabetes to help them better understand their care.
The expertise of Santé Active Edition – Synergy Pharm
Working with clients, such as MSD France and Observia, our health communication agency has participated in several projects in the field of diabetes care. Most recently, our medical writing team has assisted in the publication of two articles focusing on tools aimed at optimizing patient management and treatment adherence:
- The OPADIA study assessed the impact of using the Optima-PA© questionnaire to encourage better communication and shared decision-making between type 2 diabetes patients and healthcare professionals during the setting up of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic and Timely) micro-objectives for increasing patient levels of physical activity.
- The description of the development of the SPUR™ tool, a profiling instrument for healthcare providers to assess a comprehensive set of patient characteristics (based on the Social, Psychological, Usage and Rational framework: SPUR) to identify drivers for medication nonadherence.
Our other medical writing projects in the field have included articles on:
- Pharmacy-led initiatives
Impact of a Community Pharmacist-Delivered Information Program on the Follow-up of Type-2 Diabetic Patients: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Study. Advances in therapy (2019).
Impact of personalized text messages from pharmacists on medication adherence in type 2 diabetes in France: A real-world, randomized, comparative study. Patient Education and Counseling (2021).
- Studies of available treatments
Penetration rates of new pharmaceutical products in Europe: A comparative study of several classes recently launched in type 2 diabetes. Annales d’Endocrinologie (2021).
Cost of Managing Type 2 Diabetes Before and After Initiating Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitor Treatment: A Longitudinal Study Using a French Public Health Insurance Database. Diabetes Therapy (2020).