October 25, 1994
Bethesda, Maryland--Today the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) launched a program to increase awareness of the benefits of controlling blood sugar in people with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM).
The awareness program is based on the recently completed Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a 10-year clinical study of 1,441 people with IDDM.
"People with diabetes should know that good control of blood sugar can help prevent the eye, kidney and nerve diseases caused by diabetes," said Dr. Phillip Gorden, director of NIDDK.
"Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness in adults, as well as kidney failure and nontraumatic amputations," Gorden continued. "It also costs this country an estimated $92.6 billion a year. By preventing these complications, we can help people with diabetes live longer, healthier lives, and reduce health care costs."
The National Diabetes Outreach Program will feature an 800 number--1-800-GET-LEVEL (1-800-438-5383)--with recorded information on how good blood sugar control can help prevent diabetes complications. Callers can request a free information kit that includes a booklet on controlling insulin-dependent diabetes, a "Questions to Ask Your Doctor" card and fact sheets on diabetes.
"We applaud the NIDDK for helping to bring more attention to the urgent need for improved treatment of diabetes," said Dr. Kathleen Wishner, president of the American Diabetes Association. "The message--that good control of blood sugar really matters--is one that organizations can wholeheartedly support in our grass roots educational efforts to patients and health care professionals across the country."
The DCCT showed that volunteers who maintained near-normal blood sugar levels, called intensive treatment, had significantly lower rates of eye, kidney and nerve diseases. Intensive therapy required that participants test their blood sugar up to 7 times a day, take insulin 3 to 4 times a day, and follow a diet and exercise plan.
The message for most people with diabetes is that intensive management can make a difference," said Kenneth M. Farber, executive director of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International. "This information is just the first of many revelations to come out of a study that may very well change the course of diabetes treatment and research around the world."
Volunteers in the intensive group worked with a health care team to improve their blood sugar levels. The team included a physician, nurse educator, dietitian and psychologist.
Participants in the standard treatment group tested their blood sugar and took insulin twice a day.
Intensive treatment can increase the risk of severe low blood sugar episodes, or hypoglycemia, so it isn't recommended for children under 13, older adults, and people with heart disease or advanced complications. People with diabetes should ask their physician if this treatment is right for them.
Diabetes Facts
Fourteen million Americans have diabetes, a metabolic disorder in which the body doesn't produce any or enough insulin, or fails to use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that helps carry sugar from digested foods into cells. Without insulin, sugar builds to unsafe levels in the blood and the body loses its main source of fuel.
There are two major types of diabetes. Type 1, or IDDM, is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the body's immune system. Without daily insulin injections, people with IDDM would die. The disease, which accounts for 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetes in the United States, usually develops in children and adults under 30.
Ninety to 95 percent of people with diabetes have Type II, or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, NIDDM. It usually develops in adults over the age of 40 and is most common in adults over 55. Approximately 80 percent of people with NIDDM are overweight. In NIDDM the body produces some insulin, but, for reasons not fully understood, doesn't respond to the insulin it produces. NIDDM often can be treated with a combination of diet, exercise and oral medications;insulin is used when these treatments fail to control blood sugar.
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CONTACT:
Lorraine Marchand
(301) 496-3583
