Research from the Asia Diabetes Foundation (ADF) indicates a growing trend of type II diabetes among young adults in Asia. A collaborative study by the ADF and Merck, called the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE), revealed that 18% of participants from nine Asian countries and territories were diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 40. This condition is known as young-onset diabetes.
While pharmaceutical company Merck offers the drug Janumet XR for type II diabetes treatment, healthcare company Abbott takes a different approach. Abbott has developed a wearable device that provides doctors with detailed insights into patients’ blood glucose levels over extended periods.
[Image of Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre System]
“India currently bears 20% of the global diabetes burden,” stated Robert Ford, Senior VP of Diabetes Care at Abbott. “There’s a substantial need in India for individuals to better manage their diabetes, enabling healthier lives. Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Pro System equips doctors in India to assist their patients through comprehensive data and practical insights.”
Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Pro Flash Glucose Monitoring System features a small, round sensor, slightly bigger than a US quarter. Healthcare professionals place this sensor on the back of the patient’s upper arm. The sensor, secured with a self-adhesive pad, remains in place for up to 14 days, requiring no patient intervention.
This sensor continuously monitors glucose levels in the interstitial fluid through a tiny filament inserted just under the skin. It records these levels every 15 minutes, collecting up to 1,340 glucose results over 14 days. This data provides doctors with a comprehensive picture of the patient’s glycemic profile. After 14 days, the patient returns to the doctor, who downloads the stored glucose results from the sensor using a FreeStyle Libre Pro reader. This process takes approximately five seconds.
“Diabetes has reached epidemic levels, making effective management critical,” emphasized Dr. V Mohan, Director and Chief of Diabetes Research at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. “Existing diabetes monitoring tools have limitations as they don’t provide a complete view of a person’s glucose fluctuations throughout the day. This innovative flash glucose monitoring system will be instrumental for doctors in obtaining comprehensive glucose profiles of their patients, ultimately assisting in clinical decisions and personalized treatment plans for better outcomes.”
“Traditional continuous glucose monitoring systems are often bulky and require frequent finger-pricking for calibration,” explained Jared Watkin, Divisional VP of Technical Operations, Diabetes Care at Abbott. “Based on feedback from our customers, our design team prioritized addressing these challenges while ensuring affordability. We’re proud that the FreeStyle Libre Pro System successfully achieves this for people living with diabetes.”
Abbott plans to make the FreeStyle Libre Pro system accessible to doctors in six Indian cities—Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, and Trivandrum—in the coming weeks.
The International Diabetes Federation reports that India’s diabetes population has surged to 65.1 million today, a significant increase from 50.8 million in 2010. A recent survey conducted by the Association of Physicians of India (API) and supported by Abbott revealed that 90% of surveyed individuals in India with uncontrolled diabetes, defined as HbA1c levels exceeding 7%, still believe they have their glucose levels under control, contradicting actual findings.
The Diabetic Society of Singapore estimates that over 400,000 individuals, or 11.3% of the population, have diabetes. Further emphasizing the prevalence among young adults, Singapore’s Khoo Teck Puat Hospital found that two-thirds of its diabetes patients under 30 have type II diabetes.