Take your meds. No heavy physical activity. No food after bedtime (fasting) if there is a blood draw. These are typical instructions given prior to physician checkup and a life insurance exam.
Diabetes management is advancing in many areas. One such area is the glucose control concept. Evidence suggests that HbA1C will no longer be the sole glucose control marker utilized in the management of this disease – an expanded approach with novel drugs and more frequent glucose monitoring is set to substantially improve diabetes mortality and morbidity risk.
Is diabetes more deadly for women and the young? Recent research, jointly undertaken by RGA and MIB, examines mortality and morbidity indicators for diabetics based, for the first time, on both MIB’s impairment records and RGA’s prescription drug history information.
Over the past three decades, the global prevalence of diabetes has risen to record levels. There has been a corresponding increase in the use of the glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test to assess or detect diabetes. An increasing number of underwriters are now also considering using HbA1c as a good blood biomarker for mortality.
Over the last several years, we have seen rapid advances in the technologies that aim to treat people with diabetes.
As today’s medical and technological advances continue to be utilized and applied to Diabetes mellitus (DM), a newer and even more complex framework for the disease is emerging, which may help us further our understanding of it. RGA's Dr. Karneen Tam explores the most recent classification update and some of the newer thinking emerging about DM in Reinsurance News.
Two significant and parallel change factors – innovative new medicines and advances in digital technologies – are shifting diabetes management into a new and more positive era, significantly improving the prognosis and quality of life for diabetics, and paving the way for new Life underwriting and product opportunities.
Dr. Karneen Tam, Medical Consultant, RGA Asia Pacific, provides an in-depth discussion on cardiovascular and kidney complications related to diabetes mellitus and the mitigating effects of newer classes of medication in ReFlections.
Our recent conversations with insurance partners highlight six prevalent risks at the top of mind for industry leaders today.
Diabetes is associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and noncardiovascular noncancer causes, according to a study published online Aug. 4 in Diabetes Care.