According to a Roche Diabetes Care France survey conducted with OpinionWay, the general public and patients show a moderate level of knowledge and understanding of diabetes with a score of 5.4/10. 77% say they know there are two types of diabetes, but only 44% think they know the differences. The main risk factors are fairly well identified: overweight, unbalanced diet, physical inactivity and heredity… But other markers of the disease are still relatively unknown: high blood pressure (known to 60% of French people and 67% of patients) and chronic smoking (respectively 45% and 56%). In addition, 30% said they did not understand the causes of the disease. “These results show that it is necessary to provide more support to patients and the general public and to be more educational,” says Dr. Thomas Wendling, general practitioner in Vendenheim (Bas-Rhin).
Prevention and awareness, the essentials for better care
In France, 820,000 people are unaware that they have diabetes. This is why raising public awareness is a public health priority. The first barriers to screening identified by health professionals are the feeling of not needing it (78% of general practitioners, 64% of pharmacists), fear of diagnosis (55% and 44%), lack of knowledge about diabetes according to pharmacists (49%). And yet, 91% of French people say they are ready to be tested if they are offered it, and 81% of pharmacists are willing to set up awareness-raising operations within their pharmacy.
A crucial issue when we know that pre-diabetes remains little known. According to the general practitioners questioned, the level of knowledge of the general public is estimated at around 3/10. This phase of pre-diabetes is however reversible. By adopting a healthy lifestyle (balanced diet, appropriate physical activity, etc.), it is possible to limit the risk of developing diabetes.
“My diabetes test”, to raise awareness of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes
It is with this in mind that Roche Diabetes Care France is deploying the “My Diabetes Test” campaign in partnership with healthcare professionals, in particular pharmacists. To access it, https ://www.montestdiabete.fr/. The principle is simple: an online questionnaire (named Findrisc) helps to assess the risk of developing the disease over the next 10 years, through 8 questions relating to age, weight, family history… The result then allows to go to a pharmacy in order to obtain advice and possibly carry out a capillary blood sugar test (method allowing blood sugar to be measured using a blood sugar meter) and, if necessary, to be referred to your attending physician.
An action hailed by health professionals: “We must succeed in raising awareness and screening as many people as possible. But also having a different approach depending on the public, leaving our pharmacies, nursing homes, practices… to meet the French. It is essential to offer them time for dialogue and delocalized exchanges, otherwise the number of screenings will not change” comments Thomas Mauny, pharmacist in Caen (Normandy). For more information: www.montestdiabete.fr
For further
What is blood sugar? It corresponds to the level of sugar or glucose in the blood. In the absence of diabetes, its level is “automatically” regulated by the body thanks to two hormones produced by the pancreas: insulin (which lowers the level of sugar in the blood) and glucagon (which raises it ).
Focus on type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease characterized by an abnormal rise in blood sugar levels: hyperglycemia. Under this generic name hide different types of diabetes with varying symptoms and specific treatments. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. It accounts for 92% of diabetes cases in France. The pathology comes, initially, from a progressive resistance of the body to insulin, to which is then added a drop in the production of insulin by the pancreas. Both of these cause hyperglycemia.
What is pre-diabetes? This is a so-called intermediate form of diabetes which corresponds to higher than normal blood sugar levels, associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. This is a fasting blood sugar level which is between 1, 10 g/L and 1.25 g/L (normal fasting blood sugar is less than 1.10 g/L and the diagnosis of diabetes is made from 1.26 g/L.
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