Research priorities differ substantially by diabetes type and for family members, but most Australians living with diabetes want improvements to the daily management of their condition, a survey shows.
Researchers sought responses from 661 patients with a self-reported diabetes diagnosis and family members between November 2021 and July 2022 about the research topics they deemed important and asked them to rank research questions.
Of the participants, 302 had type 1 diabetes, 204 had type 2 diabetes, 58 had gestational diabetes, 22 had other diabetes types and 75 were family members.
From 1549 open-text responses to the first survey on research topics, 25 unique topics emerged comprising 125 research questions. Retention rates for surveys 2 and 3 on determining and ranking questions were 47% and 50%, respectively.
The highest ranked research priority for participants with T1D focused on investigating how glucose monitoring and insulin-delivery technologies could be improved to reduce the burden of managing diabetes, according to findings published in The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research [link here].
They also wanted research on how technologies could reduce the financial burden of diabetes, and be better integrated, more environmentally friendly and accessible.
These priorities were similar to those of surveyed family members, which might be because the family member cohort was mostly made up of parents to someone with T1D, said the Victorian-based researchers led by Deakin University, Geelong.
Among participants with T2D, the highest ranked research priority focused on the reversal of insulin resistance, with other priorities including seeking to identify the most effective diets, exercise plans and supports to achieve T2D remission.
For women with GDM, the most important question was better understanding the impacts of diabetes on their child during pregnancy and over the long term.
Among the cohort of participants with less common types of diabetes, prioritised research related to the need for improved screening, diagnosis and management of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults and maturity onset diabetes of the young, including increased awareness of these diabetes types among health professionals.
They also wanted to know the link between diabetes and other health conditions.
Investigation of ‘the causes or triggers of diabetes’ was the only prioritised research question across all cohorts, though not ranked first for any cohort.
“Despite differing aetiologies, this may reflect the shared complexity, and still limited understanding of the causes, of all types of diabetes,” the researchers said.
They also noted that for many of the research priorities, published evidence existed, but the information might not have been disseminated well enough or implemented within healthcare services appropriately.
“Taken together, these findings indicate that people living with or affected by diabetes in Australia believe that better health and quality of life could be achieved through research designed to reduce the everyday burden of living with diabetes.
“These findings should inform funding bodies and researchers, to align future research and its communication with community needs,” they concluded.