
What to Know About the ADA's 2018 Standards of Medical Care if You Have Diabetes
Living with poorly controlled blood sugar levels may lead to potentially serious health complications for people with diabetes — including diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, amputations, depression, sexual issues, heart disease, stroke, and even death. But luckily, if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, managing your diet, lifestyle, and treatment well can help you stabilize blood sugar and ultimately reduce the risk of these potential future health issues.
To do this, it’s crucial to stay up to date on current treatment standards in the United States — and that starts with turning to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which releases its Standards of Medical Care each year.
What Are the ADA Standards of Care and Why Should You Care?
In the ADA’s latest guidelines, released online in December 2017, the organization lists updates in areas related to heart disease and diabetes, new health technology, and more.
The standards reflect the latest evidence available to help improve care and health outcomes in people with diabetes, says William T. Cefalu, MD, the chief scientific, medical, and mission officer at the ADA who is based in New Orleans, Louisiana. “The new evidence that has been available this year from published work has been incredible,” Dr. Cefalu says.
Although the Standards of Medical Care are primarily geared toward the healthcare community, your diabetes management can benefit if you know about them, says Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, the chief medical officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
Following is everything you need to know
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