ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Psychological health, access to care, expanded and personalized treatment options, and the tracking of hypoglycemia in people with diabetes are key areas emphasized in the American Diabetes Association’s (Association) new 2017 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (Standards). Produced annually by the Association, the guidelines focus on screening, diagnosis and treatment to provide better health outcomes for children, adults and older people with type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes, and to improve the prevention and delay of type 2 diabetes. The Standards will be available online on Dec. 15, 2016, and will be published as a supplement to the January 2017 issue of Diabetes Care.
The Standards also include the findings of a new report on diabetes staging, titled "Differentiation of Diabetes by Pathophysiology, Natural History and Prognosis" (Differentiation), which is being published at the same time in Diabetes. Produced by a joint symposium of the Association, JDRF, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Differentiation report focuses on β-cell dysfunction and disease stage for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and outlines approaches to define distinct subtypes of diabetes in order to achieve personalized diabetes care. The expert team of 16 international leaders examined the current available evidence on the various genetic and environmental routes that ultimately result in diabetes, and how these different pathways may be better characterized to allow precise, personalized treatment for people with diabetes. The complete article is being published online on Dec. 15, 2016 at http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/db16-0806, and in an upcoming print issue ofDiabetes, the Association’s journal on the physiology and pathophysiology of diabetes.
"This year, the Standards include critical, new evidence-based additions—psychosocial care, expanded physical fitness, metabolic surgery and hypoglycemia—all of which can impact effective diabetes care," said the Association’s Chief Scientific and Medical OfficerRobert E. Ratner, MD, FACP, FACE. "Together, the new Standards and the Differentiation report will guide health care providers and patients around the world in a multi-disciplinary approach to provide a comprehensive, individualized diabetes care plan—a plan that accounts for the whole patient and the many variables that can impact their ability to successfully manage diabetes, and thus leads to improved health outcomes."
The 2017 Standards of Care incorporate several new guidelines issued in 2016 by the Association, including those on physical activity, psychosocial health, metabolic surgery and hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). Some highlights from the new evidence-based clinical and research recommendations in the 2017 Standards are:
Assessment of psychological health and comorbidities
Lifestyle management
Increased choice in treatment options