• The American Diabetes Association also maintains a hotline for diabetes questions, including information and education, via phone number 703-549-500, or toll-free: 800-342-2383. The association can also be reached at 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311, and at the website http://www.diabetes.org .
• NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has a great deal of information about diabetes. The offices are at Office of Communications & Public Liaison, Bldg. 31, Room 9A06, Bethesda, MD 20892-2560, phone: 301-496-3583, website: http://www2.niddk.nih.gov .
How can a person with diabetes find information about diet?
Most health care professionals will have a person on staff, or at a local health care facility, to help diabetics determine the best diet. If the doctor cannot suggest someone on his or her staff, then try the local hospital, as many hospital dietitians are trained to educate not only people with such conditions as heart disease but also diabetes (which often goes hand in hand with heart disease).
Following the best diet for a person with diabetes can be difficult, but there are many groups that help with such a task. The following lists two places to learn about diabetes and diet:
• The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) offers help to find a dietitian at 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606, phone: 800-877-600, at http://www.eatrightpro.org/ .
• The American Diabetes Association has a good deal of information about eating and diabetes. The ADA can be contacted at 703-549-500, or toll-free: 800-342-2383. It can also be reached at 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311, and at web-site http://www.diabetes.org .
DIABETES ORGANIZATIONS AND FACILITIES
What is the Joslin Diabetes Center?
The Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston is named after one of the researchers once at the forefront of diabetes research, Elliot Joslin (1869, 1962; for more about Joslin, see the chapter “Introduction to Diabetes”).
It is also considered the world’s largest diabetes research center, as well as a diabetes clinic and provider of diabetes education.
The center also notes that it has the world’s largest team of board-certified physicians treating diabetes and its complications, along with the largest staff of certified diabetes educators in the world.
It can be found at http://www.joslin.org/ .
What is the Latino Diabetes Association?
The Latino Diabetes Association offers education and diabetes-awareness information, especially for Latinos. It was organized in response to the increase in type 2 diabetes and obesity within the Latino population, both in young people and adults. Although it is mostly aimed at Latinos in California, it offers some good educational material for everyone. It is found at http://lda.org/ .
What is the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes?
The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes is located at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine. It has one of the world’s largest diabetes programs specializing in type 1 diabetes research and care. This is also one of the centers involved in clinical trials on how alpha-antitrypsin affects those with type 1 diabetes. (For more about the studies involving alpha-antitrypsin, see the chapter “The Future and Diabetes.”) It can be found at http://www.barbaradaviscenter.org/ .
The Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston is the world’s largest research center of its kind.
What is the Diabetes Prevention Support Center?
The nonprofit Diabetes Prevention Support Center was established in 2006 at the University of Pittsburgh with the major goal of preventing diabetes and improving cardiovascular health.
It was created through partnership with the military, and support from the Department of Defense, to supply such information to the military and the public.
It also has a multimonth, group-based behavioral lifestyle-intervention program, called the Group Lifestyle Balance (GLB), which helps individuals 18 or older who are non-diabetic and overweight, prediabetic, or have metabolic syndrome.
The GLB offers education, encouragement, and the tools necessary to help these people, and others, especially those at risk of developing diabetes, to reach and maintain a healthful lifestyle.
It can be found at the website www.diabetesprevention.pitt.edu/index.php .
What is the Diabetes Research Institute?
The Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) is located at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. This group is very active in the its project DRI BioHub, in which researchers are developing a kind of mini-organ to mimic the pancreas and restore insulin production in people who have diabetes. (For more about the DRI BioHub, see the chapter “The Future and Diabetes.”)
What are some diabetes organizations in the United Kingdom?
The Independent Diabetes Trust ( www.iddt.org ) is an organization from Northampton, England, that specializes in helping those with diabetes.
It has a hotline for questions and many publications to help people with diabetes understand the challenges of the disease.
There is also the Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation at https://www.drwf.org.uk/ , a charity that raises awareness of diabetes, especially its complications, treatment, prevention, and relief.
Diabetes UK at https://www.diabetes.org.uk/ is the United Kingdom’s largest diabetes charity that not only offers information and up-to-date research reports to those with diabetes but also lobbies the government for help to improve conditions for people with diabetes.
What is the IDF Diabetes Atlas?
T he International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas enables the Internet user to see where people with diabetes are distributed in different countries, with an emphasis on adults with diabetes ages 20 to 79.
The first edition was published in 2000, and the seventh edition was published in 2015.
It can be found at www.diabetesatlas.org/across-the-globe.html .
There is one caveat that even the IDF mentions: Not all the data is known; for example, in Africa, the IDF estimates that more than two-thirds of the African people with diabetes are undiagnosed. (For more about international statistics and diabetes, see the chapter “Introduction to Diabetes.”)
Are there diabetes organizations in Canada?
There are a few diabetes organizations in Canada, many of them local. But the major organization is the Canadian Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.ca/ . This group is similar to the American Diabetes Association, offering information and support to Canadians who have diabetes (and others, too, the website also has the basics of diabetes).
What are some diabetes organizations in other countries?
There are a number of diabetes organizations around the world (not including the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom). The following lists only a few of the most-followed websites of those groups (for a good list of many organizations in other countries, link to Diabetes Monitor’s site at http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/resources/international-diabetes-organizations.htm ):
DiabetiCool , This Spanish-language site is all about education and diabetes awareness. It can be found at http://www.diabeticool.com/ .
The International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes , This is an organization that often sets standards for people with diabetes, especially in terms of averages for such levels as HbA1C (or A1C). It can be found at https://www.ispad.org/ .
European Association for the Study of Diabetes , This group’s main goal is to encourage and support research in diabetes, along with disseminating the information in a timely fashion. (An offshoot of this group is the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes, a nonprofit group supporting research in diabetes.) The association can be found at http://www.easd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=435 .
World Diabetes Foundation , This group seeks, in its own words, to “alleviate human suffering related to diabetes and its complications among those least able to withstand the burden of the disease.” It can be reached at the website http://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/ .
KIDS AND DIABETES ON THE INTERNET
What are some of the best websites to help children deal with diabetes?
Many websites offer information for children dealing with diabetes. For example, Children with Diabetes, at http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/ , is a site that calls itself an “online community for kids, families, and adults with diabetes.”
Are there any digital books that help children who have diabetes?
Yes, there are many digital books that help children who have diabetes (including those in print form listed above).
For example, the companies Lilly and Disney ( http://www.lillydiabetes.com/lillydisney.aspx ) have collaborated on books that reach children and tweens living with type 1 diabetes.
In one series for young children, familiar Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse have a friend Coco, a “funloving” monkey who has type 1 diabetes.
In the tweens series, the books explore how diabetes can affect relationships with peers and adults at school, at home, and in sports.
There are many books and websites that are aimed at helping children with diabetes.
Is there a government publication that helps school personnel aid students who have diabetes?
Yes, the government publication Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel, by the National Diabetes Education Program, is a helpful reference not only for school personnel but also for parents and students in understanding diabetes and the law behind caring for students at school. (According to the website, “This comprehensive resource guide helps students with diabetes, their health care team, school staff, and parents work together to provide optimal diabetes management in the school setting.”) The newest edition was published in late 2016 (online only; the print version is from 2012) and can be found at https://www.niddk.nih.gov/healthinformation/health-communication-programs/ndep/healthcare-professionals/schoolguide/Pages/publicationdetail.aspx .
LARGE-SCALE DIABETES STUDIES ON THE INTERNET
What is EPIC-InterAct?
EPIC-InterAct is the world’s largest study of onset type 2 diabetes.
The InterAct consortium actually has a case study “nestled” within the existing large EPIC study; the EPIC study itself includes 350,000 participants across ten European countries.
The biggest strength of the study is that the results represent standardized dietary and physical activity information collected across the countries and provide baseline data for participants.
There are also DNA samples that have been extracted and genotypes, along with plasma samples analyzed for nutrition markers.
Each participant was followed for an average of eight years, which is equivalent to four million “person years.” Of the population during the time studied, about 12,403 individuals (in eight countries) were identified as having developed type 2 diabetes.
This has been a boon for researchers, as the study data includes genetic and lifestyle observations, along with nutritional factors and physical activities of the participants, for comparison purposes in the study of the development of type 2 diabetes.
The website is at www.inter-act.eu .