A new survey into diabetes cases in Australia has reported that the number of diabetics in the country could double to 3.5 million patients over the next couple of decades.
The concern over the rise and a lack of government action has prompted the charity Diabetes Australia to call for annual diabetes checks for all Australians over the age of 40 to help fight against what it calls a 21st century pandemic. The charity has demanded that the Australian government sets up a national risk assessment programme as a response to the lack of proper diabetes diagnoses, as well as changing its 2011 decision to stop a lifestyle management programme directed at those people who are at a high risk of developing the metabolic condition.
The chief executive of Diabetes Australia, Lewis Kaplan, pointed out that a new scheme to assess diabetes risk would be cost-effective way in terms of healthcare, especially as there are nearly 700,00 people in Australia thought to have diabetes but be currently undiagnosed, and about 275 people developing type 2 diabetes every day. He commented “We need sustained, nationally consistent programs to prevent, detect and manage diabetes in Australia.”
He added “While there have been many plans and strategies designed over the years, the truth is we have failed in implementing and evaluating them properly – leaving us on the brink of disaster.'”
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