According to the interim results of the first-ever multi-country online survey on cardiovascular disease risk awareness and knowledge among people living with type 2 diabetes, one in three respondents (943 overall) living with the condition consider their risk of cardiovascular disease to be low. Furthermore, the results indicate that one in six respondents had never discussed type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk with a healthcare professional.
The global survey—Taking Diabetes to Heart—was developed by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in partnership with Novo Nordisk; it will run until March 2018 and is open to all people with type 2 diabetes. As well as showing that patients with type 2 diabetes may underestimate their risk of cardiovascular disease, the survey also found that 26% of respondents had neither learned about cardiovascular disease nor received information on cardiovascular disease for several of the years following their type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
The interim results were presented at the 2017 IDF Congress 2017 (4-8 December, Abu Dhabi). Outgoing IDF president Shaukat Sadikot says: “The interim results of Taking Diabetes to Heart reiterate the importance of raising awareness of the association between type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease to promote prevention, timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment to help reduce the current burden that the two conditions represent. With the world facing an increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, better understanding the link between these conditions is needed more than ever.”
The Taking Diabetes to Heart survery aims to gather insights on current gaps in education and cardiovascular disease risk behaviour among people with type 2 diabetes, and to put in place advocacy and patient support strategies and tactics to improve health and wellbeing among populations.
