Go Blue for World Diabetes Day

November 14 is World Diabetes Day, the main global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. Over 150 countries and territories across the globe will mark the day in one way or another as a moment to pause and recognize the over 285 million people living with diabetes. There will be special radio and TV programs, diabetes workshops and exhibitions, public information meetings, press conferences, newspaper and magazine articles, walks, runs, and cycles, special events for children, free screenings for diabetes and related complications, and many other activities to mark the day. Important monuments around the world will be specially lit up in blue in honor of diabetes recognition – blue is the official color of diabetes awareness. So if you see a building in your city lit up in blue, remember, its World Diabetes Day. Visit the website to find activities or lit monuments near you: http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/events/upcoming

World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the growing concern regarding the spread of diabetes. It became an official United Nations Day in 2007. World Diabetes Day is celebrated on November 14 to honor the birthday of Frederick Banting, who helped discover insulin way back in 1922.

This year, the theme of World Diabetes Day is “Diabetes Education and Prevention.” Over the past 30 years the number of people living with diabetes all over the globe has skyrocketed, with severe consequences for healthcare budgets worldwide. Over 285 million people currently suffer from diabetes, but 344 million more are at high risk for developing the disease With enough knowledge of the diabetes, those people at high risk can make simple life changes that can significantly reduce their chances of becoming afflicted. By eating healthier and getting regular physical exercise, pre-diabetics can avoid become full-fledged type 2 diabetics. And, as for those already afflicted with the disease, continual education is essential to their treatment – though diabetics is a lifelong condition with no cure, effective management of the disease can help avoid almost all serious complications associated with the disease. It is vital that diabetics receive ongoing, high-quality diabetes education, so that they can manage their disease and live a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.

Here's some interesting information from the World Diabetes Day website:

Did you know?

* Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.
* Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.
* Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes
* Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of global death by disease.
* Each year 4 million deaths are attributable to diabetes
* All diabetes is on the rise
* Diabetes affects people of all ages
* Care for people with diabetes is best when a multidisciplinary approach is adopted involving health professionals from all areas
* Access to appropriate medication and care should be a right not a privilege
* Diabetes costs more than money
* Up to 60% of type 2 diabetes can be prevented
* Diabetes brings different challenges at different ages
* Diabetes hits the poorest hardest.

Visit the official website to find out more about diabetes, this year’s campaign, and how you can get involved: http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/

Also, visit the Healthline Diabetes Learning Center to find detailed information on all types of diabetes and treatment options: http://www.healthline.com/channel/diabetes.html

Labels: diabetes, world diabetes day

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Interview with TuDiabetes.com founder Manny Hernandez

The CDC estimates that almost 24 million people in the US have diabetes. The total costs to the US in terms of both medical care and disability are $174 billion. Millions have it, but according to Manny Hernandez, founder of the popular website tudiabetes.com , it is a "closet condition". I had the pleasure of interviewing Manny last week about the communities he created for people touched by diabetes. "In the early stage, people with diabetes don't look different. Some people with type 2 diabetes feel guilty - feel they have inflicted this on themselves. They may be in denial - "Oh I have just a touch of diabetes" - but their fasting blood sugar is 150. The fact is, one in four people walking around has diabetes. That means there is a good chance a lot of people you know have diabetes."

Hernandez was diagnosed with diabetes in 2002 - misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes when actually, he is a "LADA" or type 1.5. LADA is latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, a form of type 1 diabetes that is seen in adults over age 25 years. The oral medications he was initially treated with didn't work for him and a year later he was on insulin to control his blood sugars. In 2005 he started using an insulin pump and the following year went to his first insulin pumpers club. "That was an enlightening experience for me because I hadn't met so many people at different stages of their lives with diabetes before. It was great to be surrounded by groups of people I could relate to on this level. It was powerful to meet other people with diabetes."

"I had been in web product management for ten years and 2006 was when Myspace and Facebook were really catching on - fun tools for socialization. I was reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat and started thinking about applying social networking to diabetes. I wanted to create a social network for people who were touched by diabetes. Because in my life, everyone around me was affected by my diabetes. My 5 year old son knows when we play together he has to be careful of my pump. My wife has been very supportive.

So in March 2007 we launched tudiabetes.com as the first social network for people with diabetes. First, some of the most prominent diabetes bloggers came on board and helped build the momentum. We had members join by word of mouth. Later, we found there were important language barriers for people who only spoke Spanish. So we launched estudiabetes.com a sister community in Spanish. Now we have 4000 members for tudiabetes.com and 1000 + members for estudiabetes.com. We also have a presence on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook ,as a way to help get the word out about the communities.

Our goals are simple: 1. Help connect people with diabetes. 2. Raise diabetes awareness. The turning point for us was the Word In Your Hand project we did for World Diabetes Day last year. LifeScan, the makers of the OneTouch glucose meters, licensed Word In Your Hand, allowing us to get my wife and myself started full time on the Diabetes Hands Foundation, a nonprofit we formed to help manage the communities and the diabetes awareness programs.

Our message for people touched by diabetes is 'You are not alone.' When you connect with others you get emotional support plus you get questions answered, something to get you through between your 15 minute office visits with your doctor every three months. You get trust. The future for tudiabetes.com is to continue to spread the word and grow our roots. We recently launched two more awareness programs - Drawing Diabetes - children in the community drew how diabetes affected their lives and the Diabetes Supplies Art Contest."

If your life has been touched by diabetes - join tudiabetes.com or follow tudiabetes on twitter.

Thank you tudiabetes.com for use of photo by Kseniya.

Labels: diabetes, insulin pumps, social networking

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World Diabetes Day : November 14, 2007

246 million people around the world live with diabetes. In developing countries children with diabetes are not able to afford diabetes and supplies are not available. The IDF Life for a Child Program supports the care of over 700 children around the world. Diabetes is especially hard on children.

Diabetes can interfere with normal development in children and teens. The Life for a Child Program helps to support children, families and communities to provide medications, supplies and education to prevent complications in kids with diabetes. We used to see children with type 1 diabetes, but with soaring obesity rates, diabetes type 2 is now manifesting is youth under age 20. Before childhood obesity became such a big issue, type 2 diabetes did not develop until after age 45 in middle-aged, sedentary adults. Today almost 177, 000 kids under age 21 in the US have type 2 diabetes.

The National Diabetes Education Program offers tip sheets for teens and children:

• Stay at a Healthy Weight
• Make Healthy Food Choices
• Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
• Quiz for Teens with Diabetes

Let's honor World Diabetes Day by being active with the children and teens in our lives - take steps to be active, eat whole, nutritious food, and stop the epidemic of type 2 diabetes.

Thank you Miran Rijavec for Obesity: a rising problem in India

Labels: childhood obesity, diabetes

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Winning at Work: The ADA Program to Manage Diabetes in the Workplace

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the US and the American Diabetes Association is reaching out to employers with a unique employee health program. Winning At Work is a tool kit of resources for employees, providing education, risk tests, detection, prevention and management information.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in alliance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CDC has set up a website: diabetesatwork.org. The site offers a wealth of information for Human Resources Managers and other employer representatives for developing a diabetes prevention or management program, estimating the number of employees in your organization with diabetes, and designing a health plan for people with diabetes. Diabetics are prevented by federal law from joining the armed forces or becoming commercial pilots.

Glycemic control is a key component of an employer diabetes intervention program. Employees who achieve and maintain good blood sugar control are:

• more productive on the job
• able to remain employed longer
• have lower absenteeism rates

Employers are being asked to look at employee health through a new value model. The old cost/quality model is no longer viable in today's world. The new value model is to get outside of the medical model and look at health promotion as a way of creating healthy employees who are more productive in the workplace. Employee health is then not just another expense that needs to be controlled but an investment with a return to be gained. Efforts to promote employee health can reap huge rewards in medical cost offsets, reduced absenteeism and improved productivity.

Labels: diabetes, occupational health, workplace

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La Diabetes Tipo 2: Now the Leading Cause of Death in Mexico

Health officials at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have reported that type 2 diabetes is now the leading cause of death in Mexico, and the third leading cause of death in those living along the US - Mexico border. They estimate that 22% of those who have the disease are not aware of it. This is a serious problem, because people who are unaware they have high blood sugar are unable to take steps to prevent complications and progression of the disease.

90% of border residents are obese or overweight - the most important risk factors for diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a preventable condition when people are educated to be more active, eat less, and keep their weight under control. High blood pressure is another preventable medical illness that has been found in 36% of the diabetics in the border population.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) has made available a rich library of resources in Spanish.

Examples are:

Prevent Diabetes Problems Series In Spanish

• Keep Your Diabetes Under Control In Spanish
• Keep Your Eyes Healthy In Spanish
• Keep Your Feet and Skin Healthy In Spanish
• Keep Your Heart and Blood Vessels Healthy In Spanish
• Keep Your Kidneys Healthy In Spanish
• Keep Your Nervous System Healthy In Spanish
• Keep Your Teeth and Gums Healthy In Spanish

Thank you Hello Hillary for use of photo of people in Tijuana at church meeting.

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Focus on Diabetes: November is American Diabetes Month

For the month of November, I will cover the important topic of diabetes here at Health Observances, honoring the important work the good people at the American Diabetes Association do every day. 21 million children and adults in the US now have diabetes and 54 million more are at risk. Around the world, 246 million people are diabetics, and that number is expected to grow. The United Nations (UN) recognizes diabetes as a chronic, debilitating and costly disease adversely affecting the lives of humanity.

We now have a diabetes epidemic on our hands - and it is a real crisis for all of us. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death by disease - and there is no cure. But we can prevent type 2 diabetes and complications of diabetes. The number one thing we can do to prevent type 2 diabetes? Move your body! Take more steps each day. Number two thing? Cut processed food out of your life - start with breakfast. Everyone sees me eating muesli in the morning. What's muesli? It is raw oats, nuts and raisins. A box costs $4.00 and lasts me all week. One bowl in the morning plus an apple with peanut butter is a nutritive rich diet that will keep you happy until lunch. Just try making two small changes this week - walk two extra blocks to work and eat a breakfast of real, non-processed food. Let me know how you feel.

Healthline has over 80 articles about diabetes, including a Diabetes Health Channel. Action Plan for Diabetes, an important online book available exclusively at Healthline, is an invaluable resource for understanding and managing diabetes. Written by Mayo Clinic diabetes expert Darryl E. Barnes M.D. in conjunction with the American College of Sports Medicine, spend some time with this online book and you will learn things your doctor doesn't have time to discuss with you. All of us know people who are overweight, obese and have type 2 diabetes. It doesn't have to be that way. Put some love into your life and let's kick diabetes together.

Labels: diabetes, nutritive rich diet, whole foods

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New FDA Safety Alert for Avandia (Rosiglitazone)

There's a new warning out by the FDA regarding the diabetes medication Avandia, generic name Rosiglitazone. Avandia is an anti-diabetic medication that increases the body's sensitivity to insulin in people who have Type 2 (Non-Insulin Dependent or Adult-Onset) Diabetes Mellitus. If you are taking Avandia now you probably already know this and may have heard the new warning all over the news but what does it mean to you?

Well let's start with the facts. Here is the actual warning, "Safety data from controlled clinical trials have shown that there is a potentially significant increase in the risk of heart attack and heart-related deaths in patients taking Avandia". This is where most of the reports on TV, etc stop, but it goes on to state that other studies, some of which have been published and some with publication still pending are showing contradicting results about the risks. The real issue here is weighing all the evidence objectively. Naturally, if a study shows no additional risk this doesn't make headlines but in the spirit of erring on the side of caution the FDA is issuing this warning so that people who use the medication can discuss with their healthcare providers what the best course of action for them is now. Also for healthcare providers to use caution in their prescribing practices.

What makes this so significant is that clinical trials done by the drugs manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, showed a 30-40% increase in the risk of heart attacks and other heart-related events in people who were using Avandia for 6-months when compared to those who weren't. The trials only lasted for 6 months so we don't know what the numbers are for those who have been on the medication for longer or shorter periods of time than that. Other than heart attacks, the other "heart-related events" include such things as fluid retention, congestive heart failure, and edema.

There is another drug in the same class as Avandia known as Actos (Pioglitazone), but it is not known at this time whether it poses the same, greater or less of a risk as Avandia for heart attacks or heart-related deaths. The FDA is not making this a Black Box warning, again because of conflicting studies and also because other clinical trials are currently being done to get more conclusive information.

The most important thing is that you NOT stop taking your medication without first discussing it with your healthcare provider and coming up with an alternative plan. There are problems associated with not taking your medication and also with switching to a different medication so this is not something you should even consider doing on your own.

ADDENDUM: 6/6/2007-FDA announced that The Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Committees will meet on July 30th 2007 to discuss the heart-related risks of Avandia and other anti-diabetic drugs in it's class.

Photo courtesy of kitchaboy

Labels: actos, avandia, diabetes, fda warning

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