Diabetes remains the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia.
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The World Health Organisation has identified it, among other noncommunicable diseases, as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.
The number of adults living with diabetes worldwide has almost quadrupled since 1980, to 422 million.
Attributed largely to a rise in type 2 diabetes, one of the leading factors driving this rise remains obesity.
According to the National Diabetes Service Scheme, about 5.5 per cent, or around 29,000 Tasmanians, are living with diabetes, compared to the national average of 5.1 per cent.
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However, some health professionals believe the rate of Tasmanians living with undiagnosed diabetes could be as high as 50 per cent of the population.
Sam Beattie, acting nurse unit manager of the John Morris Diabetes Centre, said meeting the challenge of diabetes required partnerships and persistence.
"This is about the fact that the condition is growing, and the demand for services is growing. We can't possibly meet it alone," she said.
"To make progress, you think globally, but act locally.
"We are looking at a finite health system.
"You can throw endless amounts of money at it, but you have a growing health epidemic.
"So how do we meet that? A lot of that is looking to locally made and locally sourced solutions.
"Because you can have all the strategies you want, but we need to look at the solution on a local level."
Is it preventable?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition characterised by deficient insulin production. Its cause is not known, and it is not preventable, with current knowledge.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, and is the fastest growing type of diabetes in Australia, affecting between 12 and 14 per cent of pregnant women.
Along with an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery, women with gestational diabetes and their children are also at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition where the body becomes resistant to insulin.
Accounting for the majority of diabetes cases, until recently type 2 was only seen in adults. However, it is now occurring more frequently in children.
Lifestyle measures, including maintaining healthy body weight, have been shown to be effective in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes.
It is estimated that up to 58 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases are preventable. However, Ms Beattie said there were still many misconceptions.
"Our understanding as specialists, clinicians and researchers, is that some of the assumptions we have about type 2 diabetes particularly, is that it's preventable and there are lifestyle decisions that people make that are causing them to have type 2 diabetes. Some of that is being reexamined," she said.
"Because, when we look at metabolic syndrome, epigenetics - what happens to a person in utero - that is actually informing who has a higher risk of type 2.
"Of course, having said that, there are in all chronic diseases...lifestyle measures that you can undertake, which makes that condition easier to manage.
"So, we all have responsibility and if someone isn't taking that responsibility, it is up to us as clinicians to say: 'how can we help you' and not lay judgement down if that this person is non-compliant or not controlling it.
"What is preventing them, because it will be something."
The burden
In Tasmania, diabetes remains a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, stroke and lower limb amputation.
People with diabetes are also between two and four times more likely to develop heart disease.
While early diagnosis can be achieved through blood sugar tests, treatment of diabetes involves diet, physical activity and measures, including medications, to lower blood glucose levels, as well as regular screenings and treatment for further complications.
These measures, according to Ms Beattie, affect every aspect of a person's life.
"Living with a chronic condition is 24-7. If we are going to talk about diabetes, it is talking about every single thing you do," she said.
"That impacts on everything in your lifestyle, from what you eat, to what you do, to when you can do it.
"It impacts on your relationships and how people relate to you. I know it impacts your mental health.
"A person that is walking within that experience of their life, it is not necessarily understood by other people."
While prioritising leadership, management, prevention and research, Ms Beattie said encouraging healthier lifestyles was key in lifting the diabetes burden.
"We only have 500,000 people in Tasmania, so you'd think it would be easy. But I think cultural change takes time," she said.
"We know if someone is well for longer, it costs us less money.
"The human story is that if someone is well, they get to live their best life and actualise their full potential.
"That's when the burden is lifted."