Diabetes is too important to be left to diabetologists alone

Abstract

The Challenge is Great Diabetes is a pandemic which shows no signs of slowing down. Recent developments, such as the COVID 19 epidemic, have highlighted the role of diabetes specifically uncontrolled diabetes, in defining health outcomes.¹ We have known, for long, the role of glycaemic control in improving long term vascular outcomes. Now, however, we have robust data which demonstrates that a 1% reduction in glycated haemoglobin can reduce probability of getting severe COVID19 by ^21%.2 A major obstacle to ensuring euglycaemia is lack of education. Lack of awareness, at individual, family and societal level, leads to delayed recognition, diagnosis and management of diabetes.³ This is turn, creates a situation where control becomes progressively more difficult to achieve, and satisfaction with health care becomes lesser and lesser.