November is National Diabetes Month, and for 45 years, this campaign has sought to raise awareness to one of the most pernicious diseases of our time. Diabetes affects the body’s ability to produce insulin, a hormone vital to the transformation of food into usable energy.
The focus for this year’s National Diabetes Month is around both preventing diabetes and bringing awareness to prediabetes. Type 2 Diabetes, which accounts for roughly 90% to 95% of all cases, can often be prevented in its earliest stages.
More than 1 in 10 Americans live with this disease, while 1 in 3 are at risk with prediabetes, according to the CDC. Millions of Americans not only manage, but fight, live and thrive despite their condition, thanks to the efforts of doctors, researchers and the many others who bring awareness and raise funds.
Dr. Michael Haller is a professor and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Florida, researching and studying Type 1 Diabetes since the early 1990s.
GGG: Why is it important to raise awareness about diabetes, especially during National Diabetes Month?
Dr. Haller: More than 1 in every 7 health care dollars is spent on diabetes care or its downstream complications. In addition to its economic costs, it takes a tremendous human toll on millions of patients and their families. As such, we all need to be more aware of diabetes and work to remove stigma from the diagnosis and ensure access to care for all patients in need.
GGG: What kind of research and services are being performed at the University of Florida?
Dr. Haller: The UF Diabetes Institute is well known for our research into the natural history of type 1 diabetes and our efforts to identify people at risk for developing type 1 and applying immune therapies seeking to prevent or delay the disease. We are also very active in studies of diabetes technology.
GGG: What should people know about diabetes that they may not be aware of?
Dr. Haller: There are several different types of diabetes, and each one requires different treatment approaches and is caused by different factors. We should all be aware of our own biases when thinking about diabetes and work to provide patients and families struggling with diabetes our support to improve their health by asking them what we can do to help them achieve their goals.
For more information about Dr. Haller’s work and the University of Florida’s involvement in research, visit endo.pediatrics.med.ufl.edu.
Article written by Ryan Walsh