Media and Events

“The spread of the western diet and couch-potato lifestyle has transformed diabetes, a ‘disease of affluence’ that now affects five percent of adults, into one of the world’s worst and fastest-growing health epidemics.” Financial Times, 6 November 2000. This was the thrust of the message read by thousands of people all over the world on the day the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) launched its first diabetes atlas, Diabetes Atlas 2000.

A publication that can help inform people with diabetes about their condition and keep them motivated to look after themselves would seem to be a valuable and cost-effective if not essential part of self-management. But in most parts of the poorly resourced continent of Africa, a magazine for people with diabetes is a luxury. Publishing is expensive and requires a supportive economy and a literate population with a common language.

Individuals with diabetes are 25 to 30 times more likely to lose their sight from diabetic eye damage (retinopathy), cataracts or glaucoma. The US National Eye Institute reports that almost half of the 16 million people with diabetes in America have at least early signs of diabetic retinopathy. Nearly 700,000 people have serious retinal disease, and as many as 25,000 people go blind from diabetic retinopathy. In light of these statistics, Prevent Blindness America (PBA), the oldest volunteer eye health organization in the United States, has launched a new website, www.diabetes-sight.org.

The 37th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) from 9-13 September, hosted by Diabetes UK, was the biggest meeting of the EASD to date. Ten thousand people in total attended the array of satellite symposia, lectures, poster sessions and the exhibition. However, the news of the terrorist attack in New York, shocking to everyone, dampened proceedings and caused logistical chaos for the American delegation. Following is a brief overview of some of the many interesting topics presented at the meeting.

This year the WDD theme of diabetic eye disease (retinopathy) played a more prominent role in the publicity surrounding WDD events than has been the case for previous themes. Diabetes is the world's primary cause of damage to vision and blindness. One of the specific objectives of WDD 2002 was to warn of the threat of irreversible retinopathy posed by the condition. The theme was taken up in order to campaign for improved provision of sight checks as a relatively low-cost method of prevention.

The 38th Annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) took place in September on the banks of the Danube, in Budapest, Hungary. The conference provided an arena for industry to present new drugs and devices relevant to treatment of patients with diabetes.

In the first of a series of articles on the role the internet can play as a tool for advocacy, we take a look at www.idf.org in order to highlight recent changes to our own website, explain how the present content can be exploited, and preview some of the plans we have for future development.

Many interesting topics were in focus at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in San Francisco in June. Visitors joined the crowds at numerous symposia, multiple poster sessions, and the commercial exhibition. You will find here an overview of some notable issues discussed at this year's ADA.

Some people have ideas; others seem driven to put them into effect. In Christchurch, New Zealand, over the last 50 years, Don Beaven has pioneered diabetes associations, diabetes centres, diabetes promotion, and diabetes guidelines, not to mention wine and olive growing. The local diabetes association, Diabetes Christchurch, recently held a 'This is Your Life' celebration of his activities and successes – Elizabeth Home reports.

The global burden of chronic kidney failure (end stage renal disease) is primarily driven by the current parallel rise in the prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension). Asia, which has more than 60% of the world’s population, is at the forefront of this global epidemic of diabetes and kidney disease. Juliana Chan offers some background on the current status of care for kidney disease and reports on the NephroAsia 2004 meeting in Singapore.