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Greetings!
Hi everyone and welcome to the mid-year edition of Yada Yada. We hope you're managing to stay warm!
In this month's edition we report on the findings from the Diabetes MILES survey, look at research into the insulin requirements of women pregnant with twins and ponder whether there's a positive side to having type 1.
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Diabetes MILES survey report
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 In last June's Yada, we let you know about the Diabetes MILES survey - some of you may have participated. The Australia-wide survey focused on the social and psychological side of living with diabetes, rather than just the physical impacts.
The key findings were recently released and we've picked out some of the data you might find interesting. Of the 3338 people who responded 41% had type 1 (the rest had type 2).
The report listed the top five things people found distressing about dealing with diabetes, which unsurprisingly included: worrying about complications, diet and hypos; and feeling guilty and anxious when diabetes management wasn't great.
32% of people said they were interested in joining a diabetes support group, while only 8% were currently involved in one. If you are interested in joining a support group, our Reality Check and Munted Pancreas forums provide a friendly place to share your experiences.
The survey also indicated that up to 22% of type 1s may be suffering from depression - perhaps not a surprise as we know managing T1D can be challenging. If you're concerned that diabetes is affecting your mental health, you could check out the new NDSS website Minding Diabetes, visit Diabetes Counselling Online or talk to one of your health care team.
The full survey report, which contains lots more interesting info, is available from the Diabetes MILES website. |
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Insulin requirements in twin pregnancies
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Image by MestreechCity
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Recently, we've had a surprising number of Reality Checkers announce they were expecting twins, so research from a hospital in Denmark about insulin requirements during twin pregnancies caught our eye.
The study compared insulin requirements at five different stages of pregnancy for women carrying twins and those with a single child.
In a twin pregnancy, insulin requirements doubled between 14 and 27 weeks! This was a much larger increase than that experienced by mothers carrying a single child.
The larger insulin requirements are probably due to the increased growth of twins during the second trimester, but this hadn't been quantified before.
In a bit of related gossip, one of the co-authors of the paper, Professor Peter Damm, was part of the medical team that delivered Princess Mary's twins in Copenhagen.
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Complications based on age of diagnosis
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A study from Italy looked at whether the age of type 1 diagnosis is correlated with occurrence of complications later in life. Studying people who'd had type 1 for 15-25 years, researchers found that those diagnosed as infants (0-3 years old) had less retinopathy than people diagnosed during puberty (9-15 years old). Poor control (measured by HbA1c values) didn't affect the prevalence or severity of retinopathy in those diagnosed as toddlers. Other complications investigated weren't correlated with age of diagnosis.
The researchers speculated that it may be possible to set higher HbA1c targets for young children without increasing the risk of complications, but much more research is needed before we can be sure. Further research may bring hopeful news for parents struggling with the chaos of controlling D in toddlers. |
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Diabetes tattoos
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 We recently discovered that Diabetes advocacy has a fun page on their site showing diabetes related tattoos. Each pic is accompanied by a story explaining the significance of the tatt. We particularly enjoyed the pic from two parents who've had pumps tattooed on their stomachs so that their son doesn't feel like the only one who has to wear a pump. Interesting idea!
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For more information go to www.abbottdiabetescare.com.au
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Positives of having diabetes?
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When dealing with and talking about type 1, it can be easy to focus on the obvious negatives, but are there positives? That was the question raised recently on the Reality Check forum and there were some great responses including:
- Finding and enjoying support networks of other people with type 1
- Being bulk billed by a GP; receiving a free flu vac each year
- Building emotional strength and self-confidence
- Encouraging better health management by being forced to pay more attention to eating, exercising and getting check-ups
- Using diabetes as an excuse to get out of unwanted social situations
A related thread from last year had RC posters talking about some of the incredible things they'd accomplished despite having type 1. We encourage you to check it out and prepare to be inspired, and if you're like us, somewhat awestruck by people's achievements.
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For more information go to www.accu-chek.com.au
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Quick shots
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Hot topics on the Reality Check online forum include:
On Munted Pancreas, parents of kids with D are discussing:
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Thanks for reading, and don't forget you can always send us your feedback and comments by replying to this email. See you next time!
From everyone at The Type 1 Diabetes Network |
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