Sanofi has launched a new diabetes awareness campaign that it hopes will help people take control of their diabetes management by addressing the stereotypes many patients face.
The ‘Highs & Lows: Better balance for a better future’ campaign highlights the emotional and psychological factors that negatively impact patients’ diabetes self-management, such as fear of a drop in blood sugar levels and public perception of the disease.
In a survey of UK type 2 patients, Sanofi found that a quarter of participants feel anxious or fearful of having low blood sugar levels – or ‘hypos’ – with 42% actively preferring to have high blood glucose than risk a hypo, despite potential for life-threatening disease progression.
Furthermore, 15% of those surveyed said they believe others think they are to blame for having the condition, while 14% said they think people with diabetes are perceived as ‘greedy’.
Dr Mike Baxter, medical therapy expert at Sanofi UK, said: “Our research shows that there is a need in the UK for better support for people with type 2 diabetes – not just in terms of the medical management of the disease, but also the emotional and psychological aspects of the condition.
“Consequently, the level of diabetic control in a large number of people with diabetes in the UK remains unacceptably high, exposing them to high risks of developing preventable diabetic complications.”
To support its campaign Sanofi has created a patient support website with symptom checklists, guides for discussions with healthcare professionals, videos and further resources to improve people’s knowledge about the condition.
The firm also staged a tightrope walking stunt at London’s Southbank to raise awareness of the difficulty in successfully balancing diabetes self-care.
In doing so, the pharma group believes ‘Highs & Lows’ can help prevent almost a million serious medical complications associated with diabetes, such as eye disease, kidney disease, foot ulcer and amputations, that occur each year due to poor disease management.
The UK has the highest number of people with type 2 diabetes in Europe, with almost 3.5 million people currently diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 – a figure that is forecast to rise to five million by 2025.