Significance of Diabetes Education:
Diabetes education is one of the five key measures in modern comprehensive diabetes management. Broadly speaking, diabetes education aims to disseminate knowledge about the prevention and treatment of diabetes, enabling people to understand the risk factors and methods of preventing and managing diabetes.
1.Widely conducting diabetes education can effectively reduce the incidence of diabetes.
There are numerous risk factors that can contribute to the development of diabetes, including family history, changes in unhealthy dietary habits, lack of physical activity, obesity, alcohol consumption, mental stress, and age-related factors, all of which may be associated with the onset of diabetes.
With the improvement of economic levels, people’s dietary habits have changed, tending to pursue refined and high-calorie foods. Binge eating is also common, regularity in daily life has decreased, physical activity has decreased, social stress has increased, and the aging population has gradually increased. These are important factors contributing to the rising prevalence of diabetes.
Through nationwide diabetes education, raising public awareness about the causes and dangers of the disease can enhance people’s self-prevention awareness, enabling them to control risk factors in a timely manner and thereby reducing the incidence of diabetes. This has significant social implications for healthcare.
2.The effectiveness of diabetes education lies in its ability to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment, thereby reducing the incidence of complications and mitigating the harm of diabetes to patients.
Approximately 80% of diabetes patients already exhibit chronic complications at their initial visit, while about 75% of patients without complications have not received a definitive diagnosis, thus failing to achieve early diagnosis and treatment. Data shows that due to poor disease control, the majority of individuals already have complications at the time of clinical diagnosis. As a result, the disability and mortality rates associated with complications such as kidney, eye, cardiovascular, and foot diseases are significantly higher. Insufficient diabetes education is one of the main causes leading to this situation.
If effective diabetes education can be conducted to enhance public awareness of the disease, the majority of patients can receive treatment in the early stages. Existing research has confirmed that effective disease management can reduce or delay the occurrence and progression of complications, lower disability rates, improve patients’ quality of life, and prolong their lifespan. Therefore, the effectiveness of diabetes education brings about significant social benefits.
3.Strengthening diabetes education can promote the development of national economy.
The health and economic burden borne by diabetes patients ranks third, only behind tumors and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, diabetes is closely related to cardiovascular diseases. The United States spends an estimated $92 billion on this issue each year.
