A diabetic person injects insulin using a Novo Nordisk Inc. NovoLog brand insulin pen in an arranged photograph taken in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Friday, April 5, 2019. Makers of top-selling insulin products will continue to bear the brunt of Congress' drug-pricing efforts in 2019 as diabetes remains a source of frustration to policy makers in both parties. Photographer: Alex Flynn/Bloomberg
A diabetic person injects insulin. More than 460m people worldwide have diabetes © Bloomberg

When Dre Johnson, the main character from popular American TV show Black-ish was diagnosed with diabetes in 2017, it highlighted a genuine issue for many people.

African-American adults are 60 per cent more likely to have diabetes than white Americans.

While at first mistakenly thinking diabetes is curable, Dre, played by Emmy-nominated actor Anthony Anderson, who has diabetes in real life, learns how the disease can be managed through medicine and a healthy lifestyle.

In the US, where pop culture is king — and prescription drug prices per capita are also the highest in the world — the show is performing a public service. Though the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes is steadily climbing, Black-ish quietly makes clear that they can still live a normal life.

That message should resonate far beyond the US. The number of adults with diabetes is expected to rise from 463m currently to about 700m by 2045.

BLACK-ISH - "Sugar Daddy" - Dre is diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and after talking to Pops, he's resolved to curing himself. Things come to a head at the Stevens & Lido holiday party. Meanwhile, Jack is convinced that baby Devante hates him, so he enlists Junior and Diane's help, on "black-ish," airing as part of Disney|Walt Disney Television via Getty Images's special "25 Days of Christmas" programming event, TUESDAY, DEC. 12 (9:00-9:30 p.m. EST), on The Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Television Network. (Eric McCandless via Getty Images) TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, ANTHONY ANDERSON
Dre (Anthony Anderson) discusses his diabetes diagnosis with wife Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) in 'Black-ish'

How they, like Dre, will live with their condition depends on many things: scientific research, government policies, social initiatives, educational approaches and access to healthcare.

Different countries take different approaches: from calls to cap drug prices in the US to free wellness classes in Singapore . . . and, in Uganda, pioneering research into the genetics of African populations.

Uganda’s genome project

Last year more than 6,000 Ugandans were sampled for a research study of the human genome — the largest of its kind in Africa.

One key finding, says Inês Barroso, professor of diabetes at Exeter University and one of the study’s authors, was that genetic variants that are common among Ugandans are absent or very rare in European populations.

“We know, obviously, the environment plays a huge role but there’s a different genetic predisposition in individuals that can respond to those environments in different ways,” she says. “A lot can be done in European populations to understand the genetic bases a bit better but there’s very little space in lower/middle income countries.”

A researcher measures the height of a Ugandan citizen taking part of a survey in genetics.
A researcher measures the height of a Ugandan man as part of a genetics study. The DNA of Africa populations has been studied much less than that of Europeans
APCDR in Cambridge. Researchers a part of a study on the genetic of a particular population in Uganda at a lab in Cambridge University.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge analyse genetic material gathered in Uganda. Insights gleaned from such studies could lead to new treatments for diabetes

The study, conducted by a global team of academics and the Uganda Medical Informatics Centre, gave new insights into links between genes and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.

In time, that could lead to superior treatments. Meanwhile, says Prof Barroso, the study underlines that scientists must be wary of extrapolating from genetic data drawn predominantly from people of European ancestry.

But many Africans with diabetes have more pressing concerns — such as access to healthcare. One project that is attempting to remedy that is the Rutsanana Polyclinic in Harare.

Located in Glen Norah, one of the Zimbabwean capital’s poorer neighbourhoods, Rutsanana has been called a “life-saver”. It offers tests and treatment for diabetes, tuberculosis and HIV.

Microscopist Mazvita Chataurwa prepares slides to conduct tests on patient's sputum samples in an on-site laboratory, at Rutsanana Polyclinic in Glen Norah township, Harare June 24, 2019. - The health clinic is a one stop testing and treatment centre for HIV, Tuberculosis and diabetes in Zimbabwe. It's one of 10 pilot clinics offering free treatment against the diseases and also free diagnosis. In a country where public health services have practically collapsed, containing the spread of TB has been a persistent struggle. The annual number of TB infections in Zimbabwe remains among the highest in the world. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images)
A microscopist prepares to analyse samples at the Rutsanana Polyclinic in Harare. Access to good healthcare can be a problem in many low- and middle-income countries

Prof Barroso points out that, as with genetics, diabetes manifests itself differently in much of Africa and the west. “In lower- or middle-income countries diabetes and obesity is a disease of the wealthy,” she says. “But as you move to western countries diabetes and obesity tends to be more common in the lower socio-economic groups.”

The American way

In the US more than 100m people are living with diabetes or prediabetes according to the Centers for Disease Control. While they are not short of information — thanks in part to TV shows such as Black-ish — what many find harder to come by is the money to treat their condition.

BLACK-ISH - "Sugar Daddy" - Dre is diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and after talking to Pops, he's resolved to curing himself. Things come to a head at the Stevens & Lido holiday party. Meanwhile, Jack is convinced that baby Devante hates him, so he enlists Junior and Diane's help, on "black-ish," airing as part of Disney|Walt Disney Television via Getty Images's special "25 Days of Christmas" programming event, TUESDAY, DEC. 12 (9:00-9:30 p.m. EST), on The Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Television Network. (Eric McCandless via Getty Images) ANTHONY ANDERSON, TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
'Black-ish' makes clear that diabetes can readily be managed. African-American adults are 60 per cent more likely than white Americans to get the disease

Americans spend more on prescription drugs than anyone else in the world. While some Democratic presidential hopefuls, notably Bernie Sanders, have pushed for universal health coverage, it is still a long way off.

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This has led diabetes sufferers who are unable to afford insulin into poverty, ill-health or both. Others, within striking distance of the border, make regular trips to Canada, where insulin is far cheaper.

Some states have tried to take matters into their own hands. In Connecticut, legislators want to cap insulin costs at $50 a month. In Arizona, lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to have drug or insurance companies refund citizens when insulin price increases outstrip inflation.

Federal politicians are trying to find solutions as well. The Insulin Price Reduction Act, a bill making its way through Congress, seeks to provide patient protections by encouraging insulin manufacturers to reduce the list price of all insulin products to 2006 levels.

FILE - In this April 18, 2017 file photo, Soila Solano prepares to inject herself with insulin at her home in Las Vegas. Solano was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes six years ago. State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, a Las Vegas Democrat, and backers of a proposal to control insulin prices on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, withdrew a key provision of the bill that would have made the state the first in the U.S. to mandate drugmakers refund diabetics or their insurance companies when the price of insulin rises more than inflation. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
An American diabetic prepares an insulin injection. High prices mean that some Americans have to resort to rationing the drug

Other bills include similar provisions. Whether or not any of them become law, it is clear that the world’s richest country will have to tackle healthcare costs if it is to deal with diabetes.

The frontline in Leeds

Lead nurse Natasha Kelly says that while her job is challenging, there is nothing else she would rather do.

For the past three years, she has been fighting diabetes on the frontline at Leeds Teaching Hospital (LTH) in West Yorkshire.

Some 3.7m people in the UK, or 6.6 per cent of the population, have been diagnosed with diabetes. In some areas the figure is much higher: Bradford, for example, which is 10 miles away from LTH, has a diabetes prevalence of 10.4 per cent.

“We find there is a level of poverty and other things like someone’s background that contributes and complicates things like them developing diabetes,” Ms Kelly says.

Natasha Kelly, lead nurse at the diabetes department at Leeds Teaching Hospital, NHS Trust treating and educating a patient.
Natasha Kelly advises a patient at Leeds Teaching Hospital's diabetes department.

In 2017, she was hired by LTH on the back of a £1.3m grant from NHS England that focused specifically on aiding efforts to curb the rise of diabetes.

The money enabled LTH to increase the uptake of structured education for patients with type-2 diabetes, to hire more specialist nurses and to expand a multidisciplinary footcare team to speed up referrals and reduce the number of amputations.

Ms Kelly says LTH provides education for patients of different ethnicities, as well as tailoring treatment to the different types of diabetes that are linked to ethnicity.

Natasha Kelly, lead nurse at the diabetes department at Leeds Teaching Hospital, NHS Trust treating and educating a patient.
Natasha Kelly prepares a finger-prick test to determine a patient's blood sugar level. Diabetes has become a priority for the UK's health service

She adds that diabetes has been pushed to the top of the UK’s health agenda because of the economic cost. The country spends an average of £10bn a year fighting diabetes.

While Ms Kelly welcomes extra funding for diabetes treatment, she says it would be still better if people lived healthier lifestyles that would prevent them from developing the disease.

The Singaporean model

Singapore’s Health Promotion Board offers free exercise classes to encourage people to live more healthily.

In 2013, the Sunrise in the City programme was launched with the aim of helping adults start their day by exercising. In 2018 it was scaled up to make fitness sessions available during lunchtime and on weekends.

The programme includes high-intensity workouts, climbing, piloxing — a mix of pilates, boxing and dance — and family activities that are intended to cater to people of all ages and fitness levels.

Sunrise in the City is a free scheme in Singapore that aims at keeping its population healthy and reducing the risk of diabetes and diseases. No picture credit needed.
Climbing classes are among the activities included in Singapore's Sunrise in the City initiative
Sunrise in the City is a free scheme in Singapore that aims at keeping its population healthy and reducing the risk of diabetes and diseases. No picture credit needed.
A Sunrise in the City fitness class. Singapore wants to reduce the growing incidence of diabetes, which currently affects more than 10 per cent of the adult population

“The number of activity sessions under these programmes has grown from 240 sessions per week in 2016 to about 1,700 sessions per week in 2019,” according to the Health Promotion Board.

Other developed nations in Asia see Singapore as an example, though its poorer neighbours may struggle to emulate it.

In 2017, Singapore, which has a population of about 5.6m, spent close to $1bn on diabetes. The number of people with diabetes in the country keeps rising, however, and is expected to hit 1m people by 2050 — the Health Promotion Board has its work cut out.

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