By Dagmar Kownatka - 10th November 2008
“Patients with complications cost twice as much as patients who are able to control their diabetes”
Dagmar Kownatka, chair of the European Diagnostics Manufacturers’ Association (EDMA) diabetes working group
Diabetes, particularly type two diabetes, is a growing challenge in Europe. However, empowering people to monitor their own blood glucose levels can help them manage the condition, and thereby reduce complications and the burden on European healthcare systems.
Diabetes is one of the most frightening challenges facing Europe. In the EU, more than 31 million people are estimated to have diabetes, with many more cases thought to be undiagnosed.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe estimates that 50 per cent of people living with diabetes are unaware of their condition. There is a growing prevalence of diabetes among young children, making the condition a particular risk for the future of European health systems.
While type one diabetes develops due to disposition and always requires insulin injections, type two diabetes, which accounts for 90 per cent of all diabetes cases worldwide, is strongly correlated with nutrition and exercise. Diabetes puts a significant burden on society and healthcare systems. It is estimated that diabetes accounts for between five and 10 per cent of national healthcare budgets globally.
Diabetes is a chronic condition for which no cure currently exists. If it remains undiagnosed or patients do not adapt their lifestyle accordingly, it can cause severe complications, ranging from heart and kidney diseases to blindness and amputations. Due to these late complications, diabetes has become a leading cause of death in Europe.
Late complications also account for the majority of diabetes-related costs: patients with complications cost twice as much as patients who are able to control their diabetes, according to the IDF. Annual direct and indirect costs of diabetes range between €1000 and €4000 per patient in EU member states.
However, diabetes is a chronic disease that can be managed, and its course can be positively influenced by patient behaviour. Particularly for people with type two diabetes, healthy nutrition and physical exercise can impact the course of the disease and help prevent late complications, which are caused by an elevated blood glucose level.
For these patients in particular, regular measurement of blood glucose levels is a prerequisite to healthy lifestyle adjustments and responsible management of their condition.
For more than three decades now, people with diabetes have been able to control their blood glucose levels using self-monitoring devices in addition to measurement by hospitals or doctors, thus gaining more freedom and better control of their condition.
The purpose of self-monitoring blood glucose is to enable people with diabetes to take appropriate action on their test results. The medical benefit of self-monitoring has been demonstrated in several studies showing improved glucose control and significant drop in the risk of death (mortality) or serious health complications (morbidity) in people with type two diabetes using self-monitoring.
Based on information from over 3000 patients’ records, researchers found a 32 per cent lower risk of death and a 51 per cent lower risk of complications, including stroke and blindness, in patients who performed self-monitoring.
By empowering people with diabetes to take responsibility for their condition, the burden of diabetes and diabetes-related complications can be significantly reduced. This is good news for the patient, and for society.
Given the current uneven approach to diabetes management and care across Europe, a comprehensive EU diabetes framework, supported by national diabetes plans, would help people make decisions and assume responsibility for daily diabetes care.
National governments can protect the health of their citizens, while at the same time controlling health spending, by adopting national programmes for diabetes management. These programmes should support and promote self-monitoring of blood glucose levels as key to preventing secondary complications that cost health systems millions for treatment.
At Roche, we believe that it is necessary for people to live healthily, by exercising and eating a balanced diet, to decrease the likelihood that they will develop diabetes. However, if people suffer from the condition, they should be supported to manage the condition, make lifestyle changes and prevent complications.
Self-monitoring of blood glucose is a mandatory prerequisite to facilitate this aforementioned approach.
