Cardiovascular diseases and risk factors knowledge and awareness in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a global evaluation.

AIM: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death in people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge and awareness of CVD and related risk factors in people living with T2D, globally. METHODS: A questionnaire consisting of 17 questions was used to conduct the Taking Diabetes to Heart survey, between September 2017 and May 2018 among people living with T2D. All categorical variables are presented as numbers and percentages. Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to assess the association between categorical variables. RESULTS: A total of 12,695 respondents living with T2D in 133 countries completed the questionnaire. Almost half of the respondents (44%) reported having lived with diabetes for more than nine years. Only one in six (17%) considered themselves at high risk of CVD, which was surprising given that almost all the respondents had at least one CVD risk factor and around 28% of respondents had experienced one or more CVD events in the past. Although the majority of the respondents indicated they have had CVD risk factors, one in six (17%) had never discussed their risk with a health professional (HP). Furthermore, one in eleven (9%) did not know about CVD and its associated risk factors. CONCLUSION: To mitigate the prevalence of CVD in people living with diabetes, it is required to work with HP to increase knowledge and awareness of people with T2D about diabetes complications, in particular CVD.

Diabetes and global ageing among 65-99-year-old adults: Findings from the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas, 9th edition.

AIMS: The main aims are: (a) to draw attention to the nature and pattern of recent global and regional prevalence estimates and projections of diabetes in older adults (65-99 years), and (b) to describe the societal health implications of these changes on a global scale. METHODS: Diabetes prevalences and projections were estimated using a logistic regression method to generate smoothed age- and sex-specific prevalence estimates for 5-year age groups. RESULTS: In 2019, it is estimated that 19.3% of people aged 65-99 years (135.6 million, 95% CI: 107.6-170.6 million) live with diabetes. It is projected that the number of people older than 65 years (65-99 years) with diabetes will reach 195.2 million by 2030 and 276.2 million by 2045. For the regional distribution, the highest prevalence in 2019 being the North America and Caribbean Region at 27.0%. Countries with the highest number of people older than 65 years with diabetes are China, the United States of America and India. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for more data from national and regional sources on those aged 65 years and over, but the prevailing evidence points to diabetes being a considerable global chronic illness burden in ageing societies.