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Home > News > Media Release > Healthcare system does not meet the needs of young people with type 2 diabetes conference told
Home > News > Media Release > Healthcare system does not meet the needs of young people with type 2 diabetes conference told
Australian Diabetes Society &
Australian Diabetes Educators Association
Annual Scientific Meeting
(ADS ADEA ASM 2011)
31 August – 2 September 2011
Release
Embargoed: 31 August 2011
Healthcare system does not meet the needs of young people with type 2 diabetes – conference told
When Australian teenagers living with type 2 diabetes graduate from their paediatric health care providers they often do not engage with an adult diabetes care team leading to lapses in care and putting them at high risk of complications, including heart and kidney disease, blindness and stroke because of inadequate care, according to a leading American Paediatric Psychologist.
Doctor Barbara Anderson who is the Professor of Paediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, has told a major diabetes conference underway in Perth that large numbers of teenagers fail to make the transition to adult care.
“Too many teenagers with type 2 diabetes fall between the cracks,” said Dr Anderson. “They leave paediatric care but many do not reappear in the adult system.” This failure, she continued, “leaves many young adults with unmanaged type 2 diabetes and susceptible to potentially life threatening related complications”.
The incidence of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to a family history of type 2 diabetes as well as obesity and poor dietary habits and was once confined to Australia’s adult population, is growing amongst the nation’s teenagers. This growth in the number of young people with type 2 diabetes is a world-wide problem.
“Type 2 diabetes demands social, environmental and lifestyle changes,” Dr Anderson told the Australian Diabetes Society and Australian Diabetes Educators Association Meeting in Perth today.
She went on to highlight research indicating that as they move from the paediatric to the adult healthcare system, young adults with type 2 diabetes are usually overweight or obese and often struggle with depression.
Dr Anderson also said that many “transitioning” teenagers have low health literacy and potentially come from low-income, single-parent families and are of an indigenous or multicultural background.
“These young people need a planned and purposeful movement from child and family centred care to the adult-oriented healthcare system,” she said. “High quality diabetes care must include a paediatric team and an adult medical team that work closely together.”
Dr Anderson went on to say that transition should also provide an opportunity to address the social determents of health.
“Type 2 diabetes in teenagers is an Australian problem and a global problem,” Dr Anderson concluded. “We can’t turn back the clock but we can change the diabetes clinician’s approach to the transition from paediatric to adult care.”
Ends#
For further Meeting information or to organise an interview with Professor Anderson please contact Mairead McLaughlin from Ethical Strategies on 0405 951 572 or mmclaughlin@ethicalstrategies.com.au.
About the ADS (Australian Diabetes Society)
The ADS is the peak medical and scientific body in Australia working towards improved care and outcomes for people with diabetes. The association’s members include medical graduates and scientist with an interest in diabetes as well as those with a primary role in professional diabetes care.
Ways in which the ADS strives to enhance the welfare of individuals who have diabetes include the dissemination of the latest developments in the treatment and management of diabetes to its members; developing in association with Diabetes Australia and other interested bodies, education methods designed to give those who have diabetes mellitus a better understanding of their condition.
For further information about the ADS visit www.diabetessociety.com.au.
About the ADEA (Australian Diabetes Educators Association)
The ADEA is the leading Australian organisation for health professionals who provide diabetes education and care. There are more than 900 credentialed diabetes educators working across public and private practices and hospitals in Australia.
The association actively promotes evidenced-based diabetes education to ensure optimal health and wellbeing for those affected by and/or at risk of diabetes and sets standards and develops guidelines for the practice of diabetes education.
The ADEA also offers professional development programs and accredits those developed by other organisation.
For further information about the ADEA visit www.adea.com.au.
Australian Diabetes Society &
Australian Diabetes Educators Association
Annual Scientific Meeting
(ADS ADEA ASM 2011)
31 August – 2 September 2011
Release
Embargoed: 31 August 2011
Healthcare system does not meet the needs of young people with type 2 diabetes – conference told
When Australian teenagers living with type 2 diabetes graduate from their paediatric health care providers they often do not engage with an adult diabetes care team leading to lapses in care and putting them at high risk of complications, including heart and kidney disease, blindness and stroke because of inadequate care, according to a leading American Paediatric Psychologist.
Doctor Barbara Anderson who is the Professor of Paediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, has told a major diabetes conference underway in Perth that large numbers of teenagers fail to make the transition to adult care.
“Too many teenagers with type 2 diabetes fall between the cracks,” said Dr Anderson. “They leave paediatric care but many do not reappear in the adult system.” This failure, she continued, “leaves many young adults with unmanaged type 2 diabetes and susceptible to potentially life threatening related complications”.
The incidence of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to a family history of type 2 diabetes as well as obesity and poor dietary habits and was once confined to Australia’s adult population, is growing amongst the nation’s teenagers. This growth in the number of young people with type 2 diabetes is a world-wide problem.
“Type 2 diabetes demands social, environmental and lifestyle changes,” Dr Anderson told the Australian Diabetes Society and Australian Diabetes Educators Association Meeting in Perth today.
She went on to highlight research indicating that as they move from the paediatric to the adult healthcare system, young adults with type 2 diabetes are usually overweight or obese and often struggle with depression.
Dr Anderson also said that many “transitioning” teenagers have low health literacy and potentially come from low-income, single-parent families and are of an indigenous or multicultural background.
“These young people need a planned and purposeful movement from child and family centred care to the adult-oriented healthcare system,” she said. “High quality diabetes care must include a paediatric team and an adult medical team that work closely together.”
Dr Anderson went on to say that transition should also provide an opportunity to address the social determents of health.
“Type 2 diabetes in teenagers is an Australian problem and a global problem,” Dr Anderson concluded. “We can’t turn back the clock but we can change the diabetes clinician’s approach to the transition from paediatric to adult care.”
Ends#
For further Meeting information or to organise an interview with Professor Anderson please contact Mairead McLaughlin from Ethical Strategies on 0405 951 572 or mmclaughlin@ethicalstrategies.com.au.
About the ADS (Australian Diabetes Society)
The ADS is the peak medical and scientific body in Australia working towards improved care and outcomes for people with diabetes. The association’s members include medical graduates and scientist with an interest in diabetes as well as those with a primary role in professional diabetes care.
Ways in which the ADS strives to enhance the welfare of individuals who have diabetes include the dissemination of the latest developments in the treatment and management of diabetes to its members; developing in association with Diabetes Australia and other interested bodies, education methods designed to give those who have diabetes mellitus a better understanding of their condition.
For further information about the ADS visit www.diabetessociety.com.au.
About the ADEA (Australian Diabetes Educators Association)
The ADEA is the leading Australian organisation for health professionals who provide diabetes education and care. There are more than 900 credentialed diabetes educators working across public and private practices and hospitals in Australia.
The association actively promotes evidenced-based diabetes education to ensure optimal health and wellbeing for those affected by and/or at risk of diabetes and sets standards and develops guidelines for the practice of diabetes education.
The ADEA also offers professional development programs and accredits those developed by other organisation.
For further information about the ADEA visit www.adea.com.au.