Why China guidelines for type 2 diabetes represent an opportunity for treating this disease

The urban-rural disparities and factors associated with the utilization of public health services among diabetes patients in China

BACKGROUND

Basic public health services for diabetes play an essential role in controlling glycemia in patients with diabetes. This study was conducted to understand the urban-rural disparities in the utilization of basic public health services for people with diabetes and the factors influencing them.

METHODS

The data were obtained from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) with 2976 diabetes patients. Chi-square tests were used to examine the disparities in the utilization of diabetes physical examination and health education between urban and rural areas. Logistic regression was performed to explore the factors associated with the utilization of diabetes public health services.

RESULTS

Among all participants, 8.4% used diabetes physical examination in the past year, and 28.4% used diabetes health education services. A significant association with age (OR = 0.64, 95% CI:0.49-0.85; P < 0.05) was found between patients' use of health education services. Compared with diabetes patients living in an urban area, diabetes patients living in a rural area used less diabetes health education. (χ2= 92.39, P < 0.05). Patients' self-reported health status (OR = 2.04, CI:1.24-3.35; P < 0.05) and the use of glucose control (OR = 9.33, CI:6.61-13.16; P < 0.05) were significantly positively associated with the utilization of diabetes physical examination. Patients with higher education levels were more likely to use various kinds of health education services than their peers with lower education levels (OR = 1.64, CI:1.21-2.22; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Overall, urban-rural disparities in the utilization of public health services existed. Vulnerable with diabetes, such as those in rural areas, are less available to use diabetes public health services. Providing convenient health service infrastructure facilitates the utilization of basic public health services for diabetes in older patients with diabetes, especially in rural areas.

Chinese clinical practice guidelines for perioperative blood glucose management

With the increased incidence of diabetes, the number of diabetic patients who require surgical treatment is also increasing. Unfortunately, practices in this area lack standardisation. The purpose of this multidisciplinary, evidence-based guidelines for perioperative blood glucose management is to provide a comprehensive set of recommendations for clinicians treating diabetes with different types of surgery. The intended audience comprises Chinese endocrinologists, surgeons, anaesthetists, clinical pharmacists, nurses and professionals involved in perioperative blood glucose management. The guidelines were formulated as follows. First, a multidisciplinary expert group was established to identify and formulate key research questions on topics of priority according to the Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcomes (PICO) process. We conducted a meta-analysis of available studies using Review Manager version 5.3, as appropriate. We pooled crude estimates as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects model, and used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methods to assess the quality of the retrieved evidence. Finally, 32 recommendations were gathered that covered 11 fields-management and coordination, endocrinologists' consultation, diabetes diagnosis, surgery timing and anaesthesia method, blood glucose target values and monitoring frequency, hypoglycaemia treatment, oral administration of blood glucose lowering drugs, use of insulin, enteral and parenteral nutritional, postoperative treatment and medication and education and training. Twenty-five systematic reviews and meta-analyses were conducted for these guidelines to address the PICO questions. These guidelines are intended to improve perioperative blood glucose management and help doctors in specifying medical diagnosis and treatment, and will be implemented / disseminated extensively in China.

Standards of medical care for type 2 diabetes in China 2019

The prevalence of diabetes in China has increased rapidly from 0.67% in 1980 to 10.4% in 2013, with the aging of the population and westernization of lifestyle. Since its foundation in 1991, the Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) has been dedicated to improving academic exchange and the academic level of diabetes research in China. From 2003 to 2014, four versions of Chinese diabetes care guidelines have been published. The guidelines have played an important role in standardizing clinical practice and improving the status quo of diabetes prevention and control in China. Since September 2016, the CDS has invited experts in cardiovascular diseases, psychiatric diseases, nutrition, and traditional Chinese medicine to work with endocrinologists from the CDS to review the new clinical research evidence related to diabetes over the previous 4 years. Over a year of careful revision, this has resulted in the present, new version of guidelines for prevention and care of type 2 diabetes in China. The main contents include epidemiology of type 2 diabetes in China; diagnosis and classification of diabetes; primary, secondary, and tertiary diabetes prevention; diabetes education and management support; blood glucose monitoring; integrated control targets for type 2 diabetes and treatments for hyperglycaemia; medical nutrition therapy; exercise therapy for type 2 diabetes; smoking cessation; pharmacologic therapy for hyperglycaemia; metabolic surgery for type 2 diabetes; prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes; hypoglycaemia; chronic diabetic complications; special types of diabetes; metabolic syndrome; and diabetes and traditional Chinese medicine.