The Hindu Business Line : Fact sheet released for diabetic patients

IN what will benefit diabetic patients across the country, a comprehensive fact sheet has been released here at the Association of Physicians of India Conference (APICON) 2005.The fact sheet will be made available through doctors in eight regional languages, besides being Web-enabled.

The diabetes fact sheet covers a host of topics, including the basics of diabetes , drug therapy, insulin administration, hypoglycemia, foot complications and the self-monitoring of blood sugar , a note from the event organisers said. There are also special fact sheets on insulin and insulin-devices, along with self-monitoring of blood glucose levels for patients on insulin.

The fact sheet assumes significance, since India is set to become the diabetes capital of the world. According to the World Health Organisation, there are over 32 million people suffering from this disease in India today. One in every eight adults is a diabetic, said a doctor at the event.

According to the note, the fact sheet was possible due to the education grant from Novo Nordisk, the largest human insulin and insulin-devices manufacturer and LifeScan, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

"Diabetes is also the leading cause for cardiac arrests, amputations, kidney failure and blindness. The biggest need for a reliable fact sheet is very relevant in this context, as people need to be educated about the disease to be able to manage it better," elaborated Dr Sidharth Shah, Organising Chairman, Diamond Apicon 2005.

"Till today, diabetic patients have been receiving information of diabetes from various companies. This makes the fact sheet the most trustworthy and reliable one in the country," said Dr Shashank Joshi, a leading diabetologist and convenor of the function.

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