Peer Reviewed
Feature Article Endocrinology and metabolism
Type 2 diabesity: a staging strategy for individualised, holistic care
Abstract
In this opinion piece, the importance of individualised, holistic care for people with diabetes is discussed and a strategic framework that stages patients along the insulin resistance continuum to ensure stage-specific care proposed.
Key Points
- Individualisation of care for people with diabetes is the gold standard to ensure treatment goals are appropriately set.
- Lapses in individualisation are manifest in lack of intensity of treatment early in the diabetes disease process and overly intensive glucose lowering strategies in the elderly.
- A strategic framework for staging a patient along the insulin resistance continuum may trigger stage-specific prevention strategies, more holistic prioritisation of care, and alertness to prevent iatrogenic morbidity.
- Each year, recalibration of goals and care can be triggered by reassigning the patient to one of the ‘career’ stages in the insulin resistance continuum; stage-specific medical therapeutic targets can then be reset.
Picture credit: © Jamie Garbutt/Getty Images.
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