It’s Diabetes Week and Diabetes Australia Group CEO JUSTINE CAIN says the disease has an image problem and a stigma problem, and is calling on the community to help rethink diabetes.

Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain says that around 80 per cent of people with diabetes say they’ve been blamed or shamed for having the condition. 

Some common examples include people with diabetes being blamed for causing their diabetes or its complications as well as being judged when eating certain foods. 

“National Diabetes Week, July 10-16, is an opportunity to raise awareness about all types of diabetes and to encourage greater support for people living with the condition,” she says.

“This year is the third year of Diabetes Australia’s ‘Heads Up on Diabetes’ campaign focusing on the mental and emotional health impacts of living with diabetes.” 

Ms Cain says there are more than 450,000 Australians with diabetes who need to use insulin every day to stay healthy, yet many are being shamed for using insulin or checking their glucose levels in public. 

“More than 25 per cent of people living with diabetes say other people’s attitudes and stereotypes about diabetes are negatively impacting their mental health,” she says.

“This stigma can have major implications for how people manage their condition. It can cause people to delay or skip medications, which can increase their risk of serious diabetes-related complications. It also affects their willingness to seek help and support from others, including from health professionals.

“It’s important that people remember that what might seem like a harmless joke or comment, can actually add to the burden of stigma that people with diabetes experience every day – and this can all contribute to poorer mental and emotional health outcomes.

“People can visit headsupondiabetes.com.au to find out how to access mental and emotional health support. 

“If you are living with, or caring for, someone with diabetes, it’s important to be aware of the mental and emotional health impacts and to ask them if there is anything you can do to help.

“It’s also a good time to learn about diabetes. There are so many myths and misconceptions about diabetes, and if we all rethink diabetes, we could make it a little bit easier for people to live well with diabetes.”

Ms Cain says there are currently around 500,000 Australians living with silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Many of these people live with the condition for up to seven years before being diagnosed.

In that time diabetes-related complications, including vision loss and kidney and heart disease, can be developing without people realising.

“That’s why it is so important that people are regularly checked for type 2 diabetes,” she says.

“The earlier people are diagnosed, the earlier they can get the treatments that help them reduce their risk of complications.”

Visit diabetesaustralia.com.au/risk-calculator to do a free diabetes risk check.