Diabetes Care: Addressing one of the World’s Most Prevalent Disorders

As many as 366 million people globally have diabetes, and the condition is growing at a faster rate than the world’s population.^i,ii Blood glucose monitoring is an important step in effective diabetes management. As the number of people with diabetes increases, so will the need for diabetes monitoring devices that companies like Abbott produce.

What causes diabetes?

Insulin is a hormone the body needs to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.  Diabetes occurs when a person’s body cannot produce adequate amounts of insulin or it does not properly use the insulin it does produce.

For people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin because the body’s immune system has attacked and destroyed the cells that produce it. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in younger people. Only five percent of the total population with diabetes has type 1, but this group of patients must adopt several regular practices to manage their diabetes, including taking insulin, monitoring blood glucose levels, making wise food choices, being physically active, and—for some--taking aspirin daily.^iii,iv

Type 2 diabetes is by far the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or the cells do not respond to it normally.ⁱⁱⁱ Being overweight and lack of physical activity increases a person’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes.^iv People with type 2 diabetes can manage it by using diabetes medicines, making wise food choices, monitoring blood glucose levels, being physically active, and taking aspirin.

Abbott plays an important role in helping type 1 and type 2 patients manage their diabetes. Easy to use, highly accurate, and designed to address specific patient needs, our blood-glucose monitoring systems for personal use include FreeStyle Lite, FreeStyle Precision Xtra, and FreeStyle InsuLinx, which were developed to meet the needs of insulin users. At the forefront of diabetes care, Abbott is striving to deliver safe, innovative, high quality products designed to address the specific needs of diabetes patients. People living with diabetes count on Abbott glucose monitoring products to help them better manage their diabetes, while healthcare professionals use these innovative tools to help care for their patients.

For more information on diabetes care at Abbott, visit www.abbottdiabetescare.com.

Last updated January 2013

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