ADA Accomplishments in 2008

The ADA has just posted this review of their achievements in 2008 on their web-site:

In Diabetes Today 08-JAN-2009
American Diabetes Association Reflects on 2008 Accomplishments in the Fight Against Diabetes and Looks Ahead to Challenges in 2009

I read the whole thing through carefully. Unfortunately, the accomplishments I was looking for weren't in it. I read it twice to be sure.

What they did include as headlines were:

Research Funding
Fighting Discrimination Against People with Diabetes
Health ReformCreating A Healthy Environment
Those are all necessary and highly laudable achievements. I have nothing but praise for all of those involved in those areas. But that is a very limited list to my mind.

These are the headlines I missed:

"America's average A1c of diagnosed diabetics reduced significantly."or "Mortality rate of diabetics reduced."or "Rates of long-term complications reduced in diabetics."or "Fewer people with metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes progressing to type 2 diabetes."

I didn't see anything remotely like those. Those, or similar accomplishments, are the headlines that would indicate to me that the ADA is making a real and significant difference to the diabetics of the world, or at least of America.

I searched again, but all I could find was:

"Since 1987, the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent"

Maybe I'm too simple to understand these things, but isn't that trend heading in the wrong direction? And at a rather high rate?

If beating the medical afflictions of the world was a team sport and the ADA was the most highly funded team in the Diabetes Division, don't you think that by now the fans would be screaming for a review of the team's aims, methods and tactics? Hopefully the recent change in coach will bear fruit.

They note that in "in 2008, the American Diabetes Association provided $42.5 million toward funding research to combat type 1 and type 2 diabetes in people of all ages and races."
How much of that money came from big Pharma ? Most. How much of that money went to discover the optimum SMBG testing and dietary regimen for type 2 diabetes? Any? I doubt it.

On a more optimistic note, back when I wrote Money, Medications and Motives, the ADA FY06 Corporate Recognition Program included several major grains, food and beverage companies. That link no longer works and I could not find the same level of sponsorship from that industry group on the present Become a Corporate Supporter page (although it is still top-heavy with Big Pharma). I hope that is a sign from the new coach of things to come and not just poor search techniques on my part.

In that case I applaud the changes that are occurring and I hope they continue into other areas such as the focus for research funding. Maybe some day I will start to see the headlines I missed today.

Cheers, Alan