Diabetes

Pediatricians are advised to not simply focus on weight loss, but also to examine behaviors. Too rapid weight loss could be a sign of trouble and dieting in young teens often leads to being overweight later.

Ted Kyle, RPh, MBA, principal at ConscienHealth, explained that in order to prevent diabetes, a patient’s health-related risks needs to be addressed, and part of these risks stem from obesity. He added that a program like Medicare’s diabetes prevention program is exactly the tool the curb this progression.

This week in managed care, the top stories included proposals from CMS to shore up the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, research that highlighted the link between duration of obesity and cancer risk for women, and the results of an FDA diabetes workshop.

The state-by-state obesity figures revealed huge health disparities. Obesity rates for whites reached 35% in just 2 states, while the rates reached 35% for blacks in 34 states and the District of Columbia, and 11 states for Hispanics.

A diverse group of 1242 patients received diabetes self-management education either in-person or online and achieved lowered blood glucose and depression levels, had fewer symptoms of hypoglycemia, and exercised more.

Democratic lawmakers who signed a letter to Mylan this week say that the practice of offering coupons masks the high drug prices that are paid by commercial health plans. The practice is not allowed in Medicare or Medicaid.

A nationwide telemedicine diabetic screening program could help prevent diabetic retinopathy, the top cause of new-onset blindness in the United States.

Researchers and patients alike are increasingly interested in therapies that do more to limit the day-to-day, and hour-to-hour fluctuations in blood glucose that consume the time and energy of those living with diabetes.

The authors are among those concerned that patients with diabetes may be given more medication than they can tolerate or afford to achieve small improvements in A1C, without any other health benefits.

Payer coverage has been cited as the most frequent barrier to patient access to obesity therapy. While most new obesity therapies have lower wholesale costs than SGLT2 inhibitors, lack of coverage puts them out of reach for most Americans, according to a new study.

Not only are patients with prediabetes benefiting from Omada Health’s Prevent program, Omada benefits as well by learning from the enrolled patients about how to better serve the Medicaid population, Mike Payne, MBA, MSci, chief healthcare development officer at Omada Health.

Researchers found a dose-response relationship for several cancers involved in eating, meaning the higher the weight, the greater risk of cancer.

Researchers found that changing cooking methods could allow people at risk of developing diabetes to reverse damage done by things like grilling and frying their food.

The study in JAMA represents the largest effort to date to integrate mental health and primary care services across a health system and measure both clinical outcomes and savings.

For years, researchers have looked for a solution that would mean fewer injections for those with type 1 diabetes.

Governor Phil Bryant's opposition to expansion contrasts with his public support for other healthcare initiatives, such as a new diabetes research center and telehealth research.

The recommendation comes after a review of evidence of how sugar consumption affects children's health. FDA is scheduled to add information on added sugar to food labels in 2018.

Medication adherence is a complex issue, and Lonny Reisman, MD, CEO of HealthReveal, emphasized the importance of better understanding what methods or strategies will help motivate patients to do what is in their best interest.

A $245 million priority review voucher is essentially wasted, not over the therapy, but the delivery device.

Diabetes advocate Kelly Close of diaTribe and Close Concerns wrote in a blog post that those with diabetes can make a video to share with the FDA.

The authors found that comorbidity burden and the direction of behavioral change influence the relationship between adherence and medical spend. This could affect the cost-benefit considerations of medication adherence programs.

This week, the top stories in managed care included Aetna's announcement that it was pulling back its participation on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators outlined how existing sites can help roll out the Diabetes Prevention Program nationwide, and hospital leaders gave their opinions on CMS' hospital readmission program.

Highlights from the recent gathering of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, which met August 12-15, 2016, in San Diego, California.

Adrenal gland tumors that are defined as being nonfunctional may not really be so, and the hormones that these tumors secrete could increase an individual’s risk of cardiometabolic irregularities, according to a new study.