Diabete: la "sfida" del terzo millennio e la necessità di un approccio multidisciplinare

DIABETES: a challenge for the third millennium and the need of a multidisciplinary approach. Diabetic disease is progressively increasing world-wide with the growing prevalence of obesity, sedentary activities and a longer expectancy of life. Diabetes is a complex chronic disease, becoming a more and more serious problem for Health and Social Care due to its diffusion, and to the complex treatment which are needed, with high costs, both in terms of economics and resources consuming. Moreover therapeutic needs and related costs grow with arising of complications of the disease related to different organs and progressively increasing with the duration of diabetes and poor metabolic control. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment have been confirmed able in preventing and delaying target organ complications. Only a multi-disciplinary team linking General Practitioners and Specialized Physicians outside and inside Hospital can oppose to the worsening challenge of Diabetes. Thank to a careful attention to the “diabetic problem” by General Practitioners, subjects “at risk” can be identified in general population, and referred to Diabetologists in Outpatients Centres, where a correct diagnosis and individual therapy is promptly started in order to obtain a good metabolic control. A Poli-Specialistic Hospital Team is also necessary in order to treat associated complex pathologies and serious complications of diabetic disease, preventing and delaying a worse evolution and reducing the more harmful consequences.