Diabetes forum reaches milestone

The UK’s largest forum for people with diabetes has hit another milestone – reaching more than 150,000 members.

Diabetes.co.uk offers people affected by diabetes – including friends, family and carers – a platform where they can talk, support and help each other by sharing stories and swapping knowledge.

The website also aims to raise awareness and provides education for the diabetes community.

It was proven in a 2013 survey completed by over 1,000 respondents in 48 hours that the Diabetes.co.uk forum helped members of the community in their day-to-day lives and diabetes management. The survey showed that:

• A 73 per cent of forum members said that they had improved their understanding of diabetes because of information on the diabetes forum
• 44 per cent of forum members said they had improved their blood glucose control
• 35 per cent of forum members said the forum had helped them to reduce their HbA1c
• 55  per cent of forum members said they had improved their diet choices
• And almost half of the forum members who completed the survey said they had more confidence in managing their diabetes

Arjun Panesar, Chief Technical Officer, said: “We are delighted that the diabetes community forum has reached 150,000 members. The Diabetes.co.uk forum is a support mechanism that enables and educates people to realise they aren’t alone and makes a positive difference to people’s lives.”

With 150,000 members and an average diagnosis period of eight years, there is more than 1,200,000 years of experience forum.