November 04, 2009 By Soey Park for Body1
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has recently announced the release of several new diabetes guidelines including those addressing pregnancy, self-monitoring blood glucose and oral health at its 20th World Diabetes Congress in Montreal. The work of the IDF Task Force on Clinical Guidelines, these new guidelines have been set forth in light of recent data showcasing the epidemic of diabetes worldwide.
Global Guideline on Pregnancy and Diabetes
The IDF Global Guideline on Pregnancy and Diabetes aims to set a global standard for the care of women who develop gestational diabetes as well as diabetic women who become pregnant. Pregnancy is associated with changes in insulin sensitivity, often leading to changes in the plasma glucose levels, thereby potentially affecting the desired outcome of a healthy mother and baby.
Gestational diabetes is a very common occurrence during pregnancy, increasing in frequency throughout the world. The risk of mothers developing diabetes after birth is also very high, highlighting the significance of this issue. As the first IDF Guideline on Pregnancy, Dr. Stephen Colagiuri, Chair of the IDF Task Force on Clinical Guidelines has said that “This … is an important issue for IDF to address because of the growing number of women this now affects worldwide.”
Guideline on Oral Health for People with Diabetes
The IDF Guideline on Oral Health for People with Diabetes focuses on clinical care for people with diabetes, integrating oral health professionals along with diabetes. This new guideline outlines the need to educate people living with diabetes on how to manage their diabetes as well as their oral health, as oral health can significant affect their lives.
Guideline on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Non-Insulin Treated Type2 Diabetes
The IDF Guidelines on Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Non-Insulin Treated Type2 Diabetes provides recommendations for diabetics and their healthcare professionals, developed in a manner similar to the IDF pregnancy guidelines. One of the main recommendations made by this new guideline is that since type2 diabetes is responsible for 85-95% of all diabetes, self-monitoring of blood glucose should be considered part of the ongoing diabetes self-management education.
These guidelines are just the first step towards improving the treatment of diabetes worldwide. In addition to these guidelines, the IDF “coordinates workshops worldwide to ensure that care for all people with diabetes is improved regardless of income level or geography” says Dr. Colagiuri, “The mission of IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. By producing global diabetes guidelines, we are working diligently to fulfill that mission and to improve the lives of people with diabetes.”
*For a comprehensive overview of all new guidelines presented by the IDF, please visit the IDF Task Force site where PDF versions of the guidelines are available for download.
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