What could the longer impact of COVID-19 mean for people with diabetes ?
Delayed , cancelled and missed appointments are inevitable when the world is dealing with a pandemic .
From a protection perspective , the pandemic might have got more people thinking about their own mortality and making a discussion about protection more palatable , however , the longer-term implications of missing what could have been an early diagnosis are still to be seen .
The long-term impact
In what might be the first UK-wide study to look at the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and type 2 diabetes , a team of researchers from Manchester University have estimated there to have been 60,000 1 missed or delayed diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in the UK during 2020 .
And this isn ’ t just linked to diabetes . Cancer Research UK have also recently published concerning figures which suggest around 350,000 2 fewer referrals for cancer symptoms than before lockdown .
The study by Manchester University has also highlighted a significant drop in the number of people with type 2 diabetes attending regular diabetic clinics – a 77 % 1 drop in England and an 84 % 1 reduction in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland .
Such a large decrease in attendance at diabetic clinics is very concerning , particularly because these clinics are most often where an individual ’ s
HbA1c level is checked . This reading allows their GP to ascertain how the condition is being managed and chance to adjust medication doses if needed .
Why is an HbA1c test so important ?
HbA1c is your average blood glucose ( sugar ) levels over a period of months , typically the last two to three . In medical lingo , it ’ s known as glycated haemoglobin . Glycated haemoglobin is produced when the glucose in your body attaches to your red blood cells . Because people with diabetes are unable to produce enough or sometimes any insulin to stabilise glucose levels within the body , more glucose starts to stick to the red blood cells . Over time , if there ’ s too much glucose in the blood , it can damage blood vessels , leading to serious long-term health problems .
Where does protection fit in ?
As people become more comfortable going back to their GP , either face to face or virtually , it ’ s inevitable that we ’ re going to see the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes increase , possibly at a faster rate than pre-pandemic . When you consider that a huge portion of the UK already live with a diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes , estimated to be over 4.8 million 3 , that ’ s a lot of people who , at some point in time , might engage with an adviser , and where there
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