It was found that the number of diabetic patients has increased significantly due to the increased obese population, rapid aging, and daily stress.
With two out of five people suffering from diabetes or at risk, experts are recommending a more active response. Recently, attention has been paid to the more diverse treatment methods, treatments, and blood sugar management methods.
On the 12th, the Korean Diabetes Association announced in the ‘Fact Sheet 2022 Extended Edition’ that as of 2020, 5,701,000 people, or 1 in 6 people (16.7%), were diagnosed with diabetes over the age of 30 in Korea. The society estimates that by 2021, the number of diabetic patients over the age of 30 will exceed 6 million. It is estimated that the number of people with diabetes is much higher if teenagers and those in their 20s, who are not included in the statistics, are included.
Diabetes is caused by a combination of factors such as environment and genetics.
Park Jong-sook, a professor of endocrinology at Gangnam Severance Hospital, said, “Obesity, which is rapidly increasing due to lifestyle changes from the past, such as westernized eating culture, is the biggest cause of the rapid increase in diabetes.” “There are many cases in which diabetes symptoms appear as they get older,” he explained.
Along with the increase in diabetes patients, the related treatment market is also expanding.
In particular, rather than a single therapy that produces only one effect, combination therapy that uses multiple treatments together is increasing. For example, in the case of a patient who has high blood sugar levels and takes a drug that promotes the secretion of insulin that breaks down sugar, hypoglycemic side effects can occur due to excessive secretion of insulin. Therefore, combination therapy is a method of reducing side effects by administering drugs that properly absorb insulin.
It is generally accepted that combination therapy is more effective than monotherapy for diabetes, which is a progressive disease. Just in time, the health authorities expanded the targets of combination therapy for which insurance benefits were applied, greatly reducing the burden on patients.
In this regard, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the revised reimbursement criteria for diabetes medications in April. According to the new reimbursement standard, a total of seven therapies, including two three-drug therapies, three two-drug therapies, and two insulin therapies, were added to the coverage. Antidiabetic drugs include biguanides, SGLT-2 inhibitors, and DPP-4classified as inhibitors. Depending on the drug, it acts through various mechanisms such as △ inhibiting glucose synthesis in the liver △ delaying glucose absorption in the small intestine △ increasing insulin responsiveness △ promoting insulin secretion.
Professor Park said, “Using combination therapy from the beginning lowers the possibility of blood sugar control failure and helps prevent complications.”
Another expert said, “Diabetes, if left unattended, brings fatal side effects by adversely affecting vision and peripheral blood vessels.” , there is a need to respond more aggressively from the beginning.”
Along with the change in reimbursement standards, the release of generics (generic drugs) of popular drugs boasting high market share is also attracting attention. Following AstraZeneca’s Forxiga (ingredient name ‘dapagliflozin’) whose patent expired in April, MSD ‘s Januvia (ingredient name ‘Sitagliptin’) is also about to expire in September.
The diabetes treatment market is growing rapidly in line with the increase in patients. According to UBIST, a pharmaceutical market research institute, the domestic market for diabetes treatment has grown at an average annual rate of 8% over the past five years, recording about 1.5 trillion won last year메이저사이트.
An industry insider said, “The diabetes treatment market has continued to grow steadily with the increase in the number of patients.”
On the other hand, diabetes is diagnosed if one or more of the criteria, such as fasting blood sugar of 126 mg/dL or more or glycated hemoglobin of 6.5% or more, is met. Pre-diabetes is when fasting blood sugar is 100 to 125 mg/ dl or HbA1c is 5.7 to 6.4%.
Diabetes is divided into type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which insulin cannot be produced, making it difficult to control blood sugar levels. If type 1 diabetes is managed directly by administering insulin, type 2 diabetes is administered in combination with appropriate oral medications and, in some cases, insulin administration.
Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, mainly occurs in children and adolescents under the age of 20. On the other hand, type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of diabetic patients, often develops symptoms gradually, and generally develops after the age of 40.
If you have diabetes, you will urinate a lot, drink water often, and feel hungry. In addition, weight loss may occur. Diabetes can cause complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, renal failure, and retinopathy, so besides drug treatment, it must be managed with continuous diet control and exercise.
The pre-diabetic population, which is a risk group, also exceeded 15 million. As of 2020, the pre-diabetic population over the age of 30 was estimated to be 14,972,000. Combined with the number of people with diabetes, the number reaches 20 million.