The EASD Annual Meeting is one of the largest scientific congresses, presenting the latest results from basic and clinical diabetes research and the place to meet the global diabetes community. For sure, as the Investment Director of our Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund, I was there as well. These are my takeaways
At the EASD 2022 annual meeting in Stockholm leading clinicians and researchers shared insights from various studies on diabetes technology and management, including:
- For people with type 1 diabetes those with impaired hypoglycemia awareness self-reported about the same amount of hypoglycemia events as those with normal awareness but in reality those with hypoglycemia unawareness experienced significantly higher rates of such events, with many only detected by continuous glucose monitors (CGMs)
- CGMs may also reduce hospitalization for acute diabetes-related events for people with type 2 diabetes on insulin, including diabetic ketoacidosis or severe hypoglycemia, when comparing hospitalization rate for a twelve-month period pre-CGM and up to two years after
- But wider accessibility and strategies are needed for healthcare providers and researchers to use such data to advance care, including use of digital tools to monitor targets, to enable communication with healthcare providers, telemedicine and e-prescriptions, and to inform decision-making
- People with diabetes may have higher rates of anxiety, women with diabetes are more likely to report anxiety, anxiety may be more common among younger adults with diabetes, and people with lower time-in-range may have greater anxiety; hence the importance of mental health support, as treatments including digital tools can support mental health for people with diabetes.
Not to forget: With Swiss Diabetes Venture Fund's partner, the DCB, we co-hosted a dinner at the ABBA Museum convening more than fifty key stakeholders from across the diabetes technology world including startups, medtech strategics, investors, researchers and leading figures from the diabetes community. A truly memorable and inspirational evening among great company, we look forward to continuing the conversation at ATTD in Berlin in February 2023.
