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Thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes, carers and healthcare professionals have chosen their most important priorities for Type 2 diabetes research, thanks to a process steered by leading diabetes charity Diabetes UK.

The top ten priorities are published this week in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology by the Diabetes UK–James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership for Type 2 diabetes, which included Professor Andrew Farmer from Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.

Finding ways to cure Type 2 diabetes, or to put the condition into remission, emerged as the key priority for people with Type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals. Other priorities included preventing Type 2 diabetes from developing, slowing its progression, and supporting people to best manage their condition.

Diabetes UK launched the partnership in 2016 to find the unanswered research questions that matter most to the Type 2 diabetes community.

The top ten research priorities for Type 2 diabetes
1. Can Type 2 diabetes be cured or reversed, what is the best way to achieve this and is there a point beyond which the condition can't be reversed?
2. How do we identify people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and help to prevent the condition from developing?
3. What is the best way to encourage people with Type 2 diabetes, whoever they are and wherever they live, to self-manage their condition, and how should it be delivered?
4. How do stress and anxiety influence the management of Type 2 diabetes and does positive mental wellbeing have an effect?
5. How can people with Type 2 diabetes be supported to make lifestyle changes to help them manage their condition, how effective are they, and what stops them from working?
6. Why does Type 2 diabetes get progressively worse over time, what is the most effective way to slow or prevent progression, and how can this be best measured?
7. Should diet and exercise be used as an alternative to medications for managing Type 2 diabetes, or alongside them?
8. What causes nerve damage in people with Type 2 diabetes, who does it affect most, how can we increase awareness of it, and how can it be best prevented and treated?
9. How can psychological or social support be best used to help people with, or at risk of Type 2 diabetes, and how should this be delivered to account for individual needs?
10. What role do fats, carbohydrates and proteins play in managing Type 2 diabetes, and are there risks and benefits to using particular approaches.


Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition and one of the fastest growing health crises of our time. There are currently 4.5 million people in the UK living with diabetes, and around 90% of these have Type 2. Almost 12 million more are at an increased risk of developing the condition.

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Download the full top 10 research priorities report for more information.

 

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