50% of diabetics do not adhere to insulin treatment practices

More than 80 percent of people have psychological resistance to taking insulin injections which remains a critical component of treatment of diabetes, medical experts said. ‘Insulin remains a critical component of treatment of diabetes. At present injection remains the only practical means to deliver insulin,’ S.V. Madhu, secretary, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) said.

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. ‘More than 80 percent of people have psychological resistance to even initiate an insulin therapy, despite it being indispensable for glycaemic control to manage the disease,’ Madhu said.

Rajeev Chawla, joint secretary, RSSDI and a senior consultant diabetologist and director, North Delhi Diabetes Centre, said: ‘As per latest survey, more than 50 percent of diabetic patients in the city do not adhere to appropriate insulin treatment practices, and 48 percent do not know about right injection techniques’.

‘As insulin treatment is vital for blood glucose control, inappropriate injection skills compromise the dosage accuracy and its effectiveness. Moreover, it may also lead to pain with bleeding and a risk of contamination,’ he said.

Insulin is the backbone of treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. Insulin is also important in type 2 diabetes when blood glucose levels cannot be controlled by diet, weight loss, exercise and oral medicines. The different types of insulin are….

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