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The Type 1 Diabetic community is a small but incredibly resilient and strong community of only around 1,500,000 in the United States. I was diagnosed about a year ago when I was 27. Appearance wise, I was in the best shape of my life, but after a doctor visit for something unrelated and some routine bloodwork, it was found that my blood glucose levels were around 780 mg/dL. A normal range for someone with a properly functioning pancreas that creates insulin is 70-100 mg/dL. This is an autoimmune disease that doctors are still unsure of why it happens, and is vastly different from Type 2 diabetes. This was very scary at the time but I committed myself to tackling it head on, learning as much as possible and seeking the advice of those around me. I remembered that my old Captain at my Fire Department when I was in the Air Force has been a Type 1 diabetic most of his life and I reached out to him for advice and turns out another Firefighter I worked with had recently gotten diagnosed with it in 2022 as well. The odds of that are very small but it started to shed light on this small niche community that I have since really had my eyes opened to, and tried to become as active as I can be in it. Because my pancreas no longer produces insulin, I am insulin dependent for the rest of my life. That means I have to wear a Dexcom (Controlled Glucose Monitoring device) and an Omnipod (Insulin delivery device). When I'm in public now its quite cool to recognize someone else wearing either/both devices or have them recognize you. I've been able to have really wonderful conversations with people in public or through the CPR business I run, that ask for advice, give their own advice or just want to talk and it can really make people not feel as alone sometimes.

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There is definitely a lack of information and sometimes as far as just ignorance when it comes to people knowing anything about Diabetes and the vast differences between Type 1 and Type 2. This can really effect people in this community as people will say things un-educated to you like "You probably shouldn't eat that" or "Aren't you not supposed to eat sugar" (Neither comment has anything to do with Type 1 Diabetes management) and even comments like these, some more invasive than those can make people feel very uncomfortable especially in group or public setting, even if that isn't the persons intent.

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Historically this community has lived significantly shorter lives before recent advances and didn't have remotely the same level of awareness as now.

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Environmental Factor of Skyrocketing Healthcare Prices

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Environmental Factor of Skyrocketing Healthcare Prices

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Access to healthcare (I wont even say affordable), has significantly improved over the years. But greedy pharma companies have continue to target insulin and other diabetes related essentials even in recent years that have had people rationing insulin and other things which are serious life or death decisions because of the greed of big pharma. The type 1 diabetic community has been hurt for so many years by the greed of big pharma and its sickening.

For context, my environmental factor even currently in 2024 is that in the United States (one of the few without Universal Healthcare) as a single, small business owner, pay $450 just for healthcare monthly AND another $110+ in Type 1 related supplies. I i had to pay out of pocket it would be roughly $1,400 a month.

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Dexcom G6 (Controlled Glucose Monitoring device)

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Dexcom G6 (Controlled Glucose Monitoring device)

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Gone up significantly since this was released in 2011 as well!

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PITTSBURGH, June 24 - The life expectancy of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes dramatically increased during the course of a 30-year, long-term prospective study, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

The life expectancy for participants diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 1965 and 1980 was 68.8 years - a 15-year improvement, compared to those diagnosed between 1950 and 1964, according to the study. Meanwhile, the life expectancy of the general U.S. population increased less than one year during the same time period.

"The estimated 15-year life expectancy improvement between the two groups persisted regardless of gender or pubertal status at diagnosis," said Trevor J. Orchard, M.D., lead author of the study and professor of epidemiology, pediatrics and medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

The results, found in Abstract Number 0078-OR, are based on participants in the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) study, a long-term prospective study of childhood onset type 1 diabetes, which began in 1986. Participants in the study, who were an average age of 28 when entering the study and 44 at its completion, were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 1950 and 1980.

"Type 1 diabetes mortality rates have decreased over time, but formal life expectancy estimates for those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the United States are lacking," Orchard said. "Therefore, we estimated the all-cause mortality experience and life expectancy of the EDC study cohort."

The 30-year mortality of participants diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from 1965 to 1980 was 11.6 percent - a significant decline from the 35.6 percent 30-year mortality of those diagnosed between 1950 and 1964, according to the study.

Previously known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little or no insulin to properly control blood sugar levels. It is typically treated with insulin replacement therapy.

In addition to Dr. Orchard, other authors include Rachel G. Miller, M.S.; Aaron M. Secrest, Ph.D.; Ravi K. Sharma, Ph.D.; and Thomas J. Songer, Ph.D., all of the University of Pittsburgh. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), founded in 1948 and now one of the top-ranked schools of public health in the United States, conducts research on public health and medical care that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. GSPH is a leader in devising new methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other important public health issues. For more information about GSPH, visit the school's Web site at http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Life expectancy for those with Type 1 diabetes improving, Pitt study says

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The life expectancy of people diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes between 1965 and 1980 dramatically increased, compared to people diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes between 1950 and 1964, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

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One very evident thing in the T1D community is stress and mental health compounding and having very real life or death outcomes. Clearly these effect many people outside the T1D community everyday was well, but anything from financial stress, to relationship stress, job stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc can wildly fluctuate blood sugar levels very abruptly, causing insulin to be rendered not as effective, thus throwing the individual into a loop of now stressing about the fact that their device (and their partners monitor device) are beeping loudly and alarms are literally ringing, and many people can find this significantly compounds the pre-existing stress. I have found it to be very important to educate those in my life who I am around the most, or when at work, so that people can help me during those situations of stress to ensure that it doesn't become a life or death situation with a drop in blood sugar quickly due to stress or Insulin acting irregularly.

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"Racial disparities in type 1 diabetes (T1D) treatment and outcomes have been extensively described. In the United States, non-Hispanic Black children have higher rates of ketoacidosis at diagnosis, higher rates of subsequent hospital admissions, and lower rates of technology use in managing their disease.¹  Rates of poor glycemic control, diabetes complications, depression, and diabetes-related mortality²  are all higher in this population.³,⁴  As technology has evolved to play a more central role in the management of this disease, these devices have not been used equitably." (Hawkes and Lipman)

Source- Hawkes, Colin P., and Terri H. Lipman. “Racial Disparities in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Yet Another Consequence of Structural Racism.” Pediatrics, vol. 148, no. 2, 27 July 2021, p. e2021050333, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-050333. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

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