The Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust has called for greater awareness about diabetes, to enable patients to better understand their condition and how to manage it. The co-chairman of the IDDT, Jenny Hirst, said that current awareness of the condition remains patchy.
Highlighting a ‘postcode lottery’ of diabetes awareness, Hirst explained a diversity of knowledge across the country. She reportedly commented: “It is improving, but there is a lot of confusion about the difference between the two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. There has been information about the increase in amputations, which is a complication of diabetes . We find that very worrying, people aren’t getting access to foot care early enough.”
Type 2 diabetes is the more common of the two diabetes types, affecting some 85 per cent of diabetes patients in the UK. The most up-to-date statistics put the number of people with diabetes in the UK above 2.6 million.

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