A study published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) states that there are no long term benefits from type 2 diabetes group education programs that only take place once.
Type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease which can lead to amputation, loss of vision, kidney failure and many other health problems, requires a person to be extremely vigilant in caring for themselves when it comes to medication, treatment and caring for their symptoms. The UK's Diabetes National Service Framework and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) both support and recommend education programs to diabetics, starting at the time they are diagnosed.
Former studies have shown that the Diabetes Education and Self Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed, or DESMOND, was successful in giving patients a positive outlook and that patients' feelings about their disease were improved. Their health also benefitted over a year, however, the study did not determine the long term effects of the program.
For this study, researchers recruited 731 of the 824 volunteers who were evaluated in the first study to determine the long term impact, over 3 years, of diabetes education programs.
The patients who were in the intervention group took 6 hour group programs, which were taught by 2 well trained healthcare professionals. The control group did not attend the structured classes, and followed routine care with their primary doctors.
The researchers collected data on the patients containing their body weight, cholesterol levels, and HbA1c (blood sugar) levels. They also looked at the patients' history of depression, quality of life, lifestyle habits, beliefs about illness, what medications they were taking and how being diagnosed with diabetes made them feel.
Lifestyle and biomedical results at 3 years were the same with the intervention group and the control group, but the patients' beliefs about illness seemed to have improved.
Another study, published today, focuses on program named "Talking Diabetes", which focuses on healthcare professionals' techniques of helping children deal with being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This particular study found that at 12 months, the program did not impact quality of life or blood glucose levels.
An accompanying editorial states that outcome of the trial is discouraging and that we should "focus again on the setting of appropriate targets by professionals who care for patients with diabetes and the patients themselves. "
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Doubts Over Long Term Impact Of Group Education For Diabetes Patients
Health expert recommends fat tax on unhealthy foods in the UK
The director of the health promotion research group at the University of Oxford has recommended the introduction of a tax on unhealthy foods to help reduce the number of overweight and obese people in the UK.
Mike Rayner has proposed a tax on a range of less healthy foodstuffs, including a 12p ($0.19 4/10) tax on soft drinks to get people to switch to a healthier alternative, as so many people in Britain are obese – which he claims is costing the NHS billions of pounds each year. He argued that since tax increases were already used to deter people from smoking and drinking, a fat tax would improve our health and help raise money for the Treasury.
Rayner commented "There's evidence to show that manipulating food prices can encourage healthy eating. So why are we so reluctant to change the way we tax food?
He added "We need to rethink the way we apply VAT to food. At the moment we have a muddled system: you do pay tax on some relatively-healthy things like smoothies, but you don't pay it on a lot of junk food like chips or doughnuts." He also pointed out that Denmark already has a "fat tax" on foodstuffs that contain saturated fats, which are known to raise cholesterol levels.
However, the idea was been countered by Labour MP Angela Eagle and the Liberal Democrat minister Steve Webb, who would instead prefer improved nutritional education and better packaging.
We here in America have something similar to the UK Fat Tax called a Sin Tax. A sin tax is a kind of sumptuary tax: a tax specifically levied on certain generally socially proscribed goods and services. These goods are usually alcohol and tobacco, but also include candies, soft drinks, fat foods and coffee, while services range from prostitution to gambling.
Sumptuary taxes are ostensibly used for reducing transactions involving something that society considers undesirable, and is thus a kind of sumptuary law. Sin tax is used for taxes on activities that are considered socially undesirable. Common targets of sumptuary taxes are alcohol and tobacco, gambling, and vehicles emitting excessive pollutants. Sumptuary tax on sugar and soft drinks has also been suggested. Some jurisdictions have also levied taxes on illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.
The revenue generated by sin taxes is sometimes used for special projects, but might also be used in the ordinary budget. American cities and countries have used them to pay for stadiums, while in Sweden the tax for gambling is used for helping people with gambling problems. Acceptance of sumptuary taxes may be greater than income tax or sales tax.
Scottish Government announces insulin pump investment
After many years of campaigning by the charity and patient groups, Diabetes UK Scotland has welcomed a Scottish Government announcement to invest over £1 million in delivering insulin pumps.
All eligible under-18s with Type 1 diabetes will now have access to life-changing insulin pumps under plans announced today by the Scottish Government.
£1 million funding allocated
Funding of at least £1 million has been allocated to NHS Boards to help them deliver pumps to under-18s who need them, as well as tripling the amount of pumps available to all Scots.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement alongside five-year-old Daisy Slatter – the youngest person in Scotland to receive a pump. After years of multiple, daily insulin injections Daisy’s life has been dramatically improved by the medical device.
Freedom from multiple jabs
Ms Sturgeon said, "Insulin pumps mean freedom from having multiple insulin jabs a day – giving Scotland’s youngest diabetics a normal childhood.
"By the end of March 2013, this treatment will be made available to the 480 children and teens struggling with Type 1 diabetes who could benefit from it.
"Over the next three years, NHS Boards will also increase the number of insulin pumps available to all Scots to 2,000, tripling the current amount."
"Noticeably happier"
"Daisy’s sugar levels were under far better control and she was noticeably happier, although she still pains a little bit when we have to change her infusion set. We were so delighted that she could now eat whatever she wanted, snack whenever and treats weren’t a problem, so long as we knew how many carbs she was consuming."
"Life-changing therapy"
Jane-Claire Judson, Diabetes UK Scotland’s National Director, added, "Today’s announcement is very welcome news and follows years of campaigning by Diabetes UK Scotland and pump users for improved access. The announcement and the Cabinet Secretary's personal leadership on this issue will give people with Type 1 diabetes new hope that they will have improved access to this life-changing therapy."
