Diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness, kidney disease, and amputation.
Lancet Editorial Calls Diabetes Prevalence 'Public Health Humiliation,' Urges Community Response
June 25, 2010
In a special edition on diabetes published to coincide with a meeting of the American Diabetes Association, The Lancet's editors deplored the prevalence of diabetes and the confluence of factors lead to "diabetogenic" lifestyles.
Because type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of diabetes, is largely rooted in reversible social and lifestyle factors, a medical approach alone is unlikely to be the solution. Moreover, medicalisation disempowers individuals and excludes communities, schools, and urban planners who have the potential to reduce diabetes incidence. Following the example of Andrew Renehan and colleagues' Comment in The Lancet today, health professionals who care for people with diabetes have an enormous opportunity to build collaborations with different agencies that seek similar outcomes.
Full piece: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961011-2/fulltext
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Of Interest 