A report from Diabetes Australia and the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes found people diagnosed with the disease were being stigmatised for having the condition.
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The report found up to 80 per cent of people reported feeling a sense of blame or shame for having the condition, while more than 25 per cent said other people's attitudes and stereotypes about diabetes negatively impacted their mental health.
Diabetes Tasmania chief executive Caroline Wells said the stigmatisation identified by the report was one of the reasons people were reluctant to seek help.
"Being diagnosed with diabetes is scary and although everyone thinks they know about diabetes it is very misunderstood, stigmatised and can be associated with feelings of blame," she said.
"No one chooses to be diagnosed with diabetes, but there is a lot people can do to live well with diabetes, first is to understand you are not alone."
She said people were choosing to hide their diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, with almost 50 per cent of people with diabetes reporting having experienced mental health issues relating to their disease in the past twelve months.
The report found 52 per cent of people with type 2 diabetes said people assume they were overweight or had been in the past, while 37 per cent said people made a judgment on their food choices.
Ms Wells said one of the most significant stats in the report was the number of people who did not understand the issues that caused diabetes, with more than 50 per cent of respondents assuming all people with diabetes were overweight.
She said in order to ensure people felt supported it was important to educate the public about what it meant to have diabetes.
"It is important to note that lifestyle is only one of a number of risk factors. Many people are at higher risk of developing type 2 simply because of age or family history," she said.
"Not everyone with type 2 is overweight or obese, and some people will develop diabetes at a healthy weight."
Ms Wells said other factors for developing type 2 diabetes included being from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and women with a previous history of gestational diabetes.
She said about 60 per cent of women who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy were at a higher risk of developing type 2 later in life.
The Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2021-2030, the federal government's strategy to identify and manage diabetes also found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities had one of the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the country.
The strategy found ATSI communities had recorded increasing rates of diabetes in children, adolescents, young adults and pregnant women, leading to intergenerational patterns of premature disease.
Eye surgeon and ophthalmologist, Professor McCartney said while ATSI communities were considered to be a particularly high-risk group for diabetic retinopathy due to the prevalence of diabetes in communities, specific support was available through state and federal government funding.
According to the Department of Health, outreach programs for the state were funded by the Australian government and administered by the TAZREACH office of the DoH.
In the north of the state, TAZREACH provides funding for outreach dietetics and diabetes nurse educator services at Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations on Cape Barren Island, Flinders Island Circular Head and in Launceston.
Ms Wells said in environments where unhealthy eating choices were often easier than healthy ones, social issues such as poverty, access to healthy food and medical services played a role in determining who was most at risk of developing diabetes.
"The impact of the social determinants of health such as low literacy, limited access to affordable and healthy food, employment and social exclusion makes managing those risk factors for diabetes, that can be modified, so very challenging for many people," she said.
"That's why supporting people at a local level is so important and making sure that programs are delivered to meet the needs of those communities."
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the Tasmanian government had endorsed the Australian National Diabetes Strategy and would work through the recommended actions within the strategy to achieve the best outcome for Tasmanians.
He said funding of $800,000 has been provided over two years through the DoH for Diabetes Tasmania's telephone COACH program for type 2 diabetes, which would focus on women following gestational diabetes.
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