posted 11/20/02
According to researchers with the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over the past few years, a growing
number of patients with diabetes have adopted routine measures to prevent
complications.
Nilka Rios Burrows of the CDC said that “things
have improved since 1995, however, we are still short of our goals, and we need
to continue promoting preventive care."
The investigators base their findings on
telephone surveys of randomly chosen adults, conducted in 1995 and 2001. During
the surveys, respondents were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with
diabetes, and how often they receive eye and foot exams, the last time they were
given vaccines to prevent flu and pneumonia, and whether they check their blood
glucose levels every day.
Comparing the two years, the researchers found
that a higher percentage of diabetics are now opting for preventive measures to
control their diabetes, such as annual eye and foot exams. The increase in these
annual exams appeared most significant among men and older age groups, according
to the findings published in the November 1st issue of the Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report.
More diabetics of all ages also appear to be
checking their blood glucose levels daily, and are scheduling yearly vaccines to
prevent flu and pneumonia.
Despite these advances, however, the number of
diabetics adopting each of these preventive techniques is below the goals set by
health officials for 2010.
Burrows explained that the study did not
determine why more diabetics are adopting preventive care methods, but she
suggested that these improvements may be due to ongoing public and private
efforts to educate patients about their role in maintaining their health.
Clearly, further efforts are needed to meet the 2010 goals, she noted, and experts need to continue their "full-court press" to get the word out to patients and physicians.
Source: Diabetes In Control.Com: MMWR 2002;51:965-969.
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