News & Research
Patient Inform
"Access: Diabetes Research," produced in cooperation with patientINFORM, presents summaries of late-breaking research published in respected medical journals on diabetes and related conditions.
In each category below you can find digests that explain the importance of recent research studies. The digests contain links to the original research paper and to resources that you can consult about various health problems.
These digests are intended to help you understand the latest research, but should not be used to make changes in your treatment or self-care. The information provided is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor or other health care providers. If you have questions about this material, please contact your doctor.
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Most recently published Patient Informs
March 30, 2009
For Diabetes Prevention, Fitness and Weight Both Count
People who want to reduce their chances of getting pre-diabetes or diabetes should work on both improving their fitness and controlling their weight. Increasing physical activity in daily life is a good way to do both.
April 20, 2009
Eye Problems and Ethnicity
People with South Asian backgrounds appear to develop diabetes earlier and get treatable related conditions more often. They should be screened early for diabetes and should take extra care to have yearly eye exams and get treatment to control their blood glucose and blood pressure to prevent vision loss.
September 2, 2009
Eye Disease Indicates Higher Heart Disease Risk
Regular eye exams for people with diabetes can help them avoid serious vision problems through early treatment of eye disease. Eye exams may also identify patients who may need to take steps to lower their risk for heart and blood vessel disease.
April 20, 2009
Drinking Coffee May Reduce the Risk of Stroke
Drinking coffee does not appear to increase a person's chances of having a stroke and may even reduce the chances of having stroke for some people. However, we do not yet know how or why this is true, and more research is needed.
May 18, 2009
Diet Soda Linked to Higher Health Risks
Although the causes are not yet known, drinking diet soda daily may lead to weight gain, problems processing glucose in the body, and eventual diabetes.
October 1, 2009
Depressed Adolescents May Ditch Diabetes Self-Care
The main reason depressed adolescents may have poor diabetes control is that they fail to perform glucose testing as recommended. Depressed adolescents may have trouble performing self-care tasks such as glucose testing and may not believe such efforts will be effective. It is important to monitor and treat adolescents with diabetes for depression to help them keep up with the self-care tasks that will improve their diabetes control and long-term health.
March 30, 2009
Considering Cholesterol in Kids
Until more research is done, health care providers will need to tailor existing guidelines to individual patients and carefully weigh the possible benefits of treating cholesterol problems in children with diabetes against the safety, cost, and other concerns.
April 20, 2009
Complications and Chronic Conditions Increase Hospital Costs
Keeping blood glucose tightly controlled can help prevent diabetes complications. This is especially important in children and teens with type 1 diabetes.
April 20, 2009
Coffee May Lower Diabetes Risk, But How?
Drinking coffee has been linked to having a lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes. This link has been found with both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. This suggests that a component in coffee other than caffeine is the cause of this beneficial effect.
C-Peptide Test Could Help Older Patients Simplify Their Diabetes Care
Many older adults with type 2 diabetes still produce some insulin on their own and may benefit from a simplified regimen involving pills and reduced or no insulin. This may lower their risk of hypoglycemia, which could also lower their chances of falling and breaking a bone. C-peptide levels can help to identify older patients who could benefit from a simplified diabetes regimen.
March 30, 2009
An Egg a Day May Be Too Much
Although more study is needed, people who currently eat one or more eggs each day may want to eat eggs less frequently to help prevent diabetes.
September 4, 2009
Advanced Diabetes May Hinder Glucose Processing During Exercise
Exercise seems to trigger muscles to take in blood and process glucose appropriately in uncomplicated type 2 diabetes, but this triggering mechanism is hindered in people with diabetic blood vessel complications. Larger studies are needed to learn more about the causes of this problem.
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The structured summary format used by patientINFORM was developed by the Annals of Internal Medicine, which regularly includes patient summaries of research articles.
Have you found these "Access: Diabetes Research" summaries helpful? We welcome your feedback at patientinform@diabetes.org. General questions about diabetes or diabetes-related research should go to askada@diabetes.org.
