China's battle against diabetes: caution, prevention, and control

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Thursday marks this year's World Diabetes Day. While many people in China are now keeping a close eye on their blood sugar levels, experts say such rising vigilance against diabetes is necessary and helpful.

By 2021, 141 million people aged 20 to 79 were living with diabetes in China, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The country's official data indicated that the prevalence rate of diabetes among adults is around 11.9 percent, meaning that one in every eight adults is affected by this chronic disease.

Recognizing the threat that diabetes and its complications pose to public health, Chinese authorities have intensified their fight against the disease. By 2030, an integrated system for the prevention and treatment of the disease is expected to be in place in the country, according to a document released by the National Health Commission (NHC) in July.

GREAT CHALLENGES

Diabetes is often linked to a wealthy lifestyle, but the positive implications of its rise end there.

The prevalence of diabetes is associated with age, and the mortality rate among elderly patients is significantly higher than those who do not have diabetes, said Guo Lixin, a doctor at Beijing Hospital.

There are approximately 35.5 million people with diabetes aged 65 or above in China, according to the IDF. And that figure is expected to rise as the country's population continues to age.

Notably, diabetes is increasingly affecting younger generation in China. Miao Qing, an endocrinologist at Shanghai's Huashan Hospital, has observed a growing number of young people in her consultation room seeking treatment for blood sugar issues.

She cited data as saying that the diabetes prevalence rate among individuals aged 18 to 29 is about 5 percent, and it rises to approximately 6.5 percent among those aged 30 to 39.

Zhao Yaohui, an economics professor at Wuhan University, has called for greater efforts to curb chronic diseases such as diabetes, as a healthy population is crucial to easing the burden of disease among the elderly, and to unlocking the workforce potential in China's rapidly aging society.

BROADER AWARENESS

Zhao noted that one positive development is that public awareness of diabetes is also climbing, calling this "a very important achievement over the past 10 years."

Tang, a 32-year-old woman from Beijing, was told early on that diabetes runs in her family. She has monitored her blood sugar levels closely since irregularities in her diabetes indicators were detected during a pregnancy checkup three years ago.

"The abnormalities in my blood sugar were something I expected during my pregnancy," she said.

Today, she opts for sugar-free foods over regular varieties, wears a glucose monitor regularly, and reads academic literature in the hopes of better managing her blood sugar levels.

Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be effectively controlled through treatment, according to Guo, who emphasizes the importance of knowledge and skills in the management of the disease.

Authorities have pledged to enhance their diabetes-related communication with the public, construct more fitness and sports facilities, and expand programs to screen for the disease.

The Chinese government aims to achieve a diabetes awareness rate of at least 60 percent among individuals aged 18 or above by 2030, and to bring standardized management services for type 2 diabetes patients at the local level to a rate of at least 70 percent, according to the NHC document.

SOCIETAL SUPPORT

Despite being in his 80s, a resident surnamed Xu from Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province has kept his diabetes under control through the strict management of his diet and lifestyle.

He checks his blood sugar levels three times a day and uses a kitchen scale to measure his food, controlling his intake of carbohydrates, sugars and fats carefully. "I had to inject insulin every day in the past. Now, I don't need it," Xu said with pride.

Xu also attributes his success to the support he has received from the society. "A decade ago, sugar-free foods were scarce in the market. Now, I have plenty to choose from -- whole-grain bread, black rice and sugar-free soy milk, to name just a few."

In a sign of the Chinese public's increasing health consciousness, sales of electronic blood glucose monitors have surged in recent years. The scale of the market was approximately 6.73 billion yuan (around 935 million U.S. dollars) in 2023 and is expected to approach 10 billion yuan by 2029, according to a report released by Zero Power Intelligence Group, an industry research company in China.

In a recent podcast interview released on Chinese social media to mark the World Diabetes Day, a diabetes patient shared her experience of living with the condition.

She has noticed a growing trend in China: patients are increasingly sharing their strategies to manage their blood sugar levels on social media. "This not only raises public awareness about diabetes but also encourages everyone -- whether they have the disease or not -- to adopt a healthier lifestyle," she said.

Scientists are also playing their role in the fight against the disease.

According to a joint study led by Weng Jianping, a professor at Anhui Medical University, compared with those treated with the more traditional "step-by-step" approach, patients who have been newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, if they receive early insulin therapy, have their risks of stroke and heart failure-related hospitalization drop by 31 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

The study was conducted over a 24-year period and observed the treatment of 5,424 type 2 diabetes patients across the country. Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90 percent of all diabetes cases.