Deterioration in eye and kidney health is the top concern of Australian diabetes patients, according to Australian research.
More than 120,000 Australians have type 1 diabetes, a disease that develops when the pancreas inexplicably stops making insulin.
Despite significant developments in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, patients and caregivers continue to have concerns, according to survey results released Sunday by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
More than two-thirds of respondents named eye problems (68 percent) and kidney problems (67 percent) among the medical complications they feared from diabetes.
Circulatory problems, which sometimes led to amputations (62 percent) and heart disease (57 percent), were also among the main concerns of more than 1,300 respondents.
“From financial burdens to harm that can affect mental health and well-being (type 1 diabetes) is a long and powerful shadow,” said Mike Wilson, CEO of the foundation.
The survey results also highlighted the benefits of “continuous glucose monitoring,” which is achieved by having a device permanently attached to the body to check blood sugar levels and set off an alarm when it is too low or too high, potentially saving lives become.
The technology is only funded by the government for people aged 21 and under.
More than 71 percent of respondents said the Foundation said it cost $ 98.20 per month for technologies like continuous glucose monitoring because they didn’t use it.
The foundation proposed an expansion of the funding program, which should initially be continued for current users after their 21st year of life.
“We believe that people who accessed the technology through the program should continue to do so,” the report said on Sunday.
The federal government announced that the surveillance grant system was implemented in 2017 and supported more than 58,000 people.
“The admission criteria are aimed at providing access to people with diabetes who are most in need of tax-financed assistance and are continuously expanding,” a spokesman told AAP.
A panel of experts, including diabetes specialists, gave advice on creating the subsidy system.
“The advisory group recommended that people with the greatest clinical need are people with type 1 diabetes under the age of 21,” the spokesman said.
