Lhe technology is making huge and fast strides to improve the lifestyle and health of people with diabetes. According to data that emerged from the 29th National Congress Sid (Italian Society of Diabetologists) which recently took place in Rimini, 4 out of 10 people use continuous blood sugar monitoring, even if “we are still far from the indications of the new Guidelines”, explain the experts.
Continuous blood glucose monitoring: the study
How many people in Italy choose to rely on continuous blood sugar monitoring? A group of diabetes specialists took care of it and analyzed it further 500 thousand patients. On the occasion of 29th Sid National Congress (Italian Society of Diabetologists) study was presented on Diabetes and Sid/Amd/Siedp Technologyjust published.
«The results are encouraging if I think back to about ten years ago and how less widespread diabetes management technology was. The photograph taken through the sample of patients we analyzed pre-pandemic confirms the ongoing transformation. But at the same time he also feels the need to promote a technological choiceto which helps the better management of diabetesas well described in the latest Guidelines promulgated by the most important Italian Diabetes Scientific Societies in collaboration with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità», explained Dario Pitocco, author of the study and Director of UOSA (Autonomous Simple Operative Units) Diabetes, A. Gemelli University Hospital Foundation of Rome.
How diabetes is managed in Italy
As reported by the portal Healthcare landscapeparticipated in the study over 300 Italian diabetes centres and more than 500 thousand patients with diabetes. The data states that the 40% of patients with type 1 diabetes (over 13 thousand) use systems of continuous monitoring, while the 23% rely on the use of insulin pumps for the management of insulin therapy.
Kids with diabetes choose technology
A percentage that increases when patients are analyzed under 18, who for more than a third wear the sensor (35%), while more than half (57%) have decided to abandon the use of needles for blood glucose measurement to switch to CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) technology mode. The study also shows that among the diabetes centers involved, 60% have a team of diabetologists, nurses and psychologists.
«A significant increase if we think of those suffering from type 1 diabetes but who, especially among new generationsare proving to be prepared to welcome solutions that help improve the quality of life», adds Pitocco. «These results can be interpreted in a heterogeneous way: first of all they are data collected between 2018 and 2019, in a pre-pandemic era, and we also know how much diabetes technology has had a further boost in the last 2/3 years. The use seems to be greater in the younger age groups, perhaps more ready to welcome the technological innovations. Despite the increase in patient numbers, the health personnel dedicated to diabetes care is still too scarce, especially for the majority of the population with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes and use of technology: recommendations
Recommendations on the use of technology in case of type 1 diabetes have recently been published by theAssociation of Diabetologists (AMD)from the Italian Society of Diabetology (SID) and from Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (SIEDP) and in collaboration with the‘ISS (Higher Institute of Health).
«In the guidelines for type 1 diabetes, technology has assumed an increasingly central and essential role. The possibility of having available software that provides data regarding the metrics of the blood sugar trend has changed the method of conducting the diabetes visit».
More and more specialized diabetes doctors
«I perceive a clear evolution – continues Pitocco – between the growing demand of patients who are not satisfied with their quality of life and the response of trained colleagues who want to satisfy this physiological, psychological and even aesthetic need. We can sense a clear evolution in the field of diabetology characterized on the one hand by the patient’s need to improve their quality of life and on the other by the need for diabetologist to possess an increasingly technological preparation».
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED