A new report by researchers at the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has found that diabetes care in the United States is not improving at a rate previously hoped for. However, the news is not all negative, as care has certainly improved over the last decade.
The findings are published in the April edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine. One expert involved in the study, who is the chief of the Diabetes Epidemiology and Statistics Branch at CDC was reported as saying that the report gives a “mixed message.” Furthermore, the same expert reported “improvements in some areas”, but called general results “a job that is left undone.”
The need for a comprehensive, sensitive and widespread diabetes healthcare and prevention system in the United States is paramount. There are currently 21 million diabetes sufferers in the United States, a figure that pales in comparison beneath the 41 million who are at risk.
The study shows that treatment to prevent diabetes-related complications has improved, including cholesterol levels, blood sugar control, and eye and foot examinations. Blood sugar control and blood pressure control have stayed relatively constant, however.
Expert opinion remains divided. One academic was reported as saying: “we are treating the heart attack, but we are not treating the cause.” The need for a focus on prevention is of paramount importance, the same expert said.

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