Osakidetza will offer, as of this month of September, diabetic women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the new blood glucose measurement system, which since last year they are already using more than 300 children under 18 years in Euskadi.It is a "very novel" method that allows, by placing a patch, avoiding a large number of daily punctures, which facilitates the day -to -day life of diabetics, according to the Basque Health Service.
The sensor patch measures the blood glucose level and allows you to visualize it comfortably on the screen of a mobile phone, instead of having to perform repeated hair punctures, as so far.
From now on, about fifty women with type 1 diabetes, which has already come to a preconception consultation, can benefit from this new glycemia meter method.
The Minister of Health, Jon Darpón, highlighted the importance of the new instrument for these particularly vulnerable people, since "patients with pre -estational diabetes constitute a collective with special difficulty in controlling blood glucose levels.""Thanks to the patch they will avoid punctures prior to insulin administration, which is a very important improvement in their quality of life," he said.
The new system to check glucose levels from the screen of a mobile phone was launched for the Children's and Youth Collective in November 2017. Since then, 308 patients under 18 years of age are being used.Also, this sensor was made available to 92 adults, by medical prescription, due to different circumstances.
Later, it is planned to carry out a first evaluation of the project, to assess its implementation to the set of diabetes patients in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi.
Diabetes in Euskadi
Despite the general increase in the disease throughout Europe, its prevalence in Euskadi is below the state average.According to an Osakidetza study, diabetes affects 10.6% of those over 18 in the Basque Autonomous Community, while similar studies place prevalence in the state in 13.8%.
From Osakidetza they have pointed out that the adoption of healthy life habits is key in their prevention, so, from the 2013-2020 Basque Government Health Plan, actions such as the project "Initiatives for healthy eating in Euskadi" are promoted.or the promotion of physical activity from childhood to old age.
Regarding health care, in addition to the work in the prevention and control of the disease by Osakidetza professionals, within Osasun Eskola and the active patient program, the formation of the patients themselves is encouraged through the workshops"Taking care of my diabetes", in which more than 3,000 people have already participated.