Thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes, carers and healthcare professionals have chosen their most important priorities for Type 2 diabetes research, via a process steered by diabetes charity Diabetes UK. 

Finding ways to a cure Type 2 diabetes, or to put the condition into remission emerged as the key priority for people with Type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals. Other priorities included preventing Type 2 diabetes from developing, slowing its progression, and supporting people to best manage their condition. 

Scientists and research funders usually make decisions around what to research. But Diabetes UK is committed to giving people with diabetes a louder voice, and to making the research it funds as relevant as possible to them.

In 2016, the charity launched a partnership with the James Lind Alliance to find the unanswered research questions that matter most to the Type 2 diabetes community. 

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “By knowing what matters most to people living with or treating Type 2 diabetes, we now have a chance to drive research forward and direct funding to where it’s needed most." 

 

The Top 10 research priorities were found to be: 

 1.     Can Type 2 diabetes be cured or reversed, what is the best way to achieve this and is there a point beyond which the condition can't be reversed?

2.     How do we identify people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and help to prevent the condition from developing?

3.     What is the best way to encourage people with Type 2 diabetes, whoever they are and wherever they live, to self-manage their condition, and how should it be delivered?

4.     How do stress and anxiety influence the management of Type 2 diabetes and does positive mental wellbeing have an effect?

5.     How can people with Type 2 diabetes be supported to make lifestyle changes to help them manage their condition, how effective are they, and what stops them from working?

6.     Why does Type 2 diabetes get progressively worse over time, what is the most effective way to slow or prevent progression, and how can this be best measured?

7.     Should diet and exercise be used as an alternative to medications for managing Type 2 diabetes, or alongside them?

8.     What causes nerve damage in people with Type 2 diabetes, who does it affect most, how can we increase awareness of it, and how can it be best prevented and treated?

9.     How can psychological or social support be best used to help people with, or at risk of Type 2 diabetes, and how should this be delivered to account for individual needs?

10. What role do fats, carbohydrates and proteins play in managing Type 2 diabetes, and are there risks and benefits to using particular approaches?