|
Last Updated: Nov 17th, 2006 - 22:35:04 |
Survey
AACE�s 14 th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress
|
USA Channel 
subscribe to USA newsletter
|
|
America's Diabetes Health is in Jeopardy
May 19, 2005, 12:47, Reviewed by: Dr.
|
|
�Despite major advances in diabetes care and the variety of tools available to help people with type 2 diabetes manage the condition, this Report suggests that America�s type 2 diabetes population is struggling to control their blood sugar levels and affirms the outcomes from our recent Implementation Consensus Conference,�
|
By American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE),
A first-of-its-kind Report released today by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) revealed that from 2003 to 2004, two out of three Americans with type 2 diabetes, analyzed in a study of more than 157,000 patients, were not in control of their blood sugar, failing to meet AACE�s target A1C goal of 6.5% or less.
In addition, a state-by-state ranking of blood sugar control � contained in the new �State of Diabetes in America� Report � shows that there is significant room for improvement in diabetes management as the majority of people studied in every state, including the District of Columbia, were not in control of their blood sugar levels. The new Report was presented at AACE�s 14 th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress.
Despite the new Report findings, the vast majority (84%) of Americans with type 2 diabetes who were polled as part of a national survey agree that they are doing a good job of managing their diabetes by controlling their blood sugar. More than 18 million Americans are affected by diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, accounts for 90 to 95% of all diagnosed diabetes cases.
�Despite major advances in diabetes care and the variety of tools available to help people with type 2 diabetes manage the condition, this Report suggests that America�s type 2 diabetes population is struggling to control their blood sugar levels and affirms the outcomes from our recent Implementation Consensus Conference,� said Carlos R. Hamilton , Jr., M.D., FACE, President of AACE, an organization of endocrinologists who are medical experts in treating diabetes. �Type 2 diabetes is of urgent concern and these findings must serve as a wake-up call for America that more needs to be done to help lower A1C levels across the country and ultimately, manage this epidemic.� 
- American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE)
www.aace.com
About A1C
The �State of Diabetes in America � Report offers critical information about blood sugar levels throughout the United States , as measured by the A1C test. The A1C test measures a person�s average blood sugar levels over the previous two to three months. The A1C test complements daily blood sugar monitoring, taken at home, which shows blood sugar levels at the time the test is taken.
AACE recommends an A1C target level of 6.5% or less. This is significant since every 1% increase above 6% elevates a person�s risk of serious � and potentially life-threatening � diabetes-related complications such as stroke, heart attack and loss of limbs. It is important, however, that people with type 2 diabetes speak with their doctor or other healthcare professional about setting their own personal A1C goal. Meal planning, regular physical activity, and if needed, medicine, alone or in combination, are the cornerstones to achieving A1C goals. When diet and exercise do not work to reach A1C goals, one or more medications may be prescribed to help control blood sugar levels.
�The medical community needs to intervene earlier and more aggressively to control blood sugar because of the link between high A1C levels and diabetes-related complications. This may mean adding a medicine, or a combination of medicines that help to treat diabetes in different ways, to a person�s treatment regimen of diet and exercise,� said Jaime A. Davidson, M.D., FACE, who chaired ACE/AACE�s recent Implementation Consensus Conference. �We also need to encourage people with type 2 diabetes to take control of their own health by educating them about the central role they themselves play in the long-term management of their diabetes.�
Gaps in Knowledge Revealed
A nationwide survey carried out in conjunction with a new campaign called the �State of Diabetes in America: Striving for Better Control� revealed that while almost all (98%) people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes agree that blood sugar control is important, the
majority (61%) do not know what the A1C test is. Moreover, even after being told what it
is, half of all those surveyed (51%) do now know what their last A1C number was.
Public Awareness Campaign Launched to Address Issue
Based on the Report and the survey findings, the �State of Diabetes in America: Striving for Better Control� campaign is designed to improve diabetes management in the U.S. by providing people with type 2 diabetes the tools to help them control blood sugar levels and giving them an easy-to-understand �road map� for successful diabetes management. The key principles of the campaign center around what people with type 2 diabetes can do to get their blood sugar numbers down.
As a first step, AACE is encouraging the many Americans with type 2 diabetes to join together in taking an �oath� to better control blood sugar levels. To take the oath, learn more and receive a free diabetes-friendly cookbook, people with type 2 diabetes should visit www.stateofdiabetes.com or call (800) 704-4694.
About the Campaign Sponsors
AACE is a professional medical organization consisting of over 5,200 practicing clinical endocrinologists devoted to furthering patient care in the field of endocrinology. AACE is committed to transforming the lives of patients by enabling one another to practice leading edge, proactive, ethical and cost effective medicine.
All members of AACE are fully licensed physicians and fully trained in endocrinology. The majority are board certified in internal medicine and subspecialty certified in adult or pediatric endocrinology. AACE members are recognized clinicians and educators, and many are affiliated with medical schools and universities. Members contribute on a regular and continuing basis to the scientific literature on endocrine diseases and conduct medical education programs on this subject.
For more information on AACE, please visit www.aace.com or www.powerofprevention.com.
GlaxoSmithKline has provided funding and other support to AACE for the �State of Diabetes in America : Striving for Better Control� campaign. GlaxoSmithKline, one of the
world�s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
A state-by-state ranking of blood sugar control from the �State of Diabetes in America� Report. Data for the Report were provided by Surveillance Data Inc. (SDI), the leading provider of real-time localized illness tracking and modeling data to the healthcare industry. To obtain a full copy of the Report, please contact Lisa Martins from Cohn & Wolfe at (212) 798-9819.
About the Patient Survey: The telephone survey was conducted by Harris Interactive� for the �State of Diabetes in America: Striving for Better Control� campaign in April 2005 among a nationwide sample of 501 U.S. adults ages 18 and over who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Figures for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, region and income were weighted where necessary to align them with their proportions in the population according to the 2004 National Health and Wellness Survey. In theory, with probability samples of this size, Harris Interactive estimates with 95% certainty that the results have a sampling error of +/- 4 percentage points.
AACE is a professional medical organization with more than 5,200 members in the United States and 84 other countries. Founded in 1991, AACE is dedicated to the optimal care of patients with endocrine problems. AACE initiatives inform the public about endocrine disorders. AACE also conducts continuing education programs for clinical endocrinologists, physicians whose advanced, specialized training enables them to be experts in the care of endocrine diseases, such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, growth hormone deficiency, osteoporosis, cholesterol disorders, hypertension and obesity.
|
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send
any medical news or health news press releases, use
feedback form
Top of Page
|
