Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Background: Worldwide one in twelve people are living with diabetes and one in two people do not know they have diabetes. Currently large numbers of the older people live in residential care homes in the UK, and up to one in four older people living in residential care homes present with diabetes. Low vision is one of the complications associated with diabetes in older people. In those aged 75 and over, one in five, and in those aged over 90, one in two people are affected by low vision and they are at an increased risk of developing other eye diseases. Within 20 years of diagnosis nearly all people with Type 1 and almost two thirds of people with Type 2 diabetes (60%) have some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the issues and problems faced by older people living in residential care homes with low vision and diabetes; to evaluate health professionals’ knowledge and understanding of the impact of low vision associated with diabetes in older people living in residential care homes; and to develop an educational toolkit which aimed to educate health care assistants about low vision and diabetes. Methods: This study is an exploratory investigation of older people living in residential care homes with low vision and diabetes. Adopting an open-ended qualitative approach using focus groups, interviews and a health professional’s survey, 116 participants were involved. These included GPs, ophthalmologists, nurses, optometrists, health care assistants and older people with low vision and diabetes. The data was analysed thematically. The educational toolkit was developed in the second part of this study, and 20 healthcare assistants were trained using this toolkit. Their knowledge was tested before the training, immediately after the training and one month after the initial training. Following Kirkpatrick’s model, the skills and practical use of the educational toolkit was assessed using an open-ended qualitative approach. Results: The results found that many older people and the health care assistants had the perception that low vision was a normal ageing process and could not be rectified. The study found that there was evidence to suggest that eye health was not considered to be a priority; instead, it was considered to be a natural part of the ageing process. The results found that 82% of the HCAs had not had any training in the area, and more than half of the nurses and GPs did not have sufficient knowledge of low vision and diabetes. After training, however, their knowledge was increased. This suggested that low vision and diabetes toolkit training could be used to educate healthcare assistants on a regular basis. The study also found that knowledge does decline over time, and therefore regular training for HCAs is required in order to maintain eye health and diabetes in older people, as well as improving their quality of life. Conclusion: In the research findings it was found that 50% to 70% of low vision was preventable or treatable if detected in its early stages and could be avoided by simply wearing appropriate spectacles, or possible surgery. However, in order to identify these 50% to 70% with low vision, everyone concerned should be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of preventable low vision, particularly health care assistants, as according to this study, health care assistants spent large amount of time in the residential care homes compared to the other health professionals.

The main objective of this study was research on biomarkers used in both diagnosis and therapy of diabetic complications. The main focus of our work came to be on one of these biomarkers - glycemic variability (GV). High GV is linked with more frequent occurance of hypoglycemia. There are even indications it might contribute to development of diabetic complications. With modern technology - continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), we are now able to reliably describe, calculate and reduce GV. So far it is unclear whether increased GV can contribute to the development of microvascular complications (MVC) in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Studies published so far have assessed GV primarily from routine self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) using glucometers. In the light of this uncertaity, the first part of this work compares GV calculated from CGM with the presence of MVC in T1D patients. GV calculated from CGM, but not from SMBG, proved to be significantly higher in T1D patients with MVC, even though there was no significant difference in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). This finding supports the hypothesis that higher GV is related to higher risk of MVC and that HbA1c does not describe diabetes control completely. Moreover, it was shown that GV calculated from SMBG is insufficient. There is still no fully...

The topic of the diploma thesis is the influence of a low-carbohydrate diet on the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. It is an autoimmune disease for which it is necessary for patients to administer insulin. The selection of suitable sports activities, good health and mental condition and, above all, the adjustment of eating habits also contribute to the successful compensation of diabetes. This work demonstrates a low-carbohydrate diet as one of the possibilities diabetics can eat. The work is divided into two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part briefly describes the disease and presents the recommended and a low- carbohydrate diet. The following section also addresses physical activity. It describes the issues of sports for people with diabetes who are on a regular diet, as well as on low-carbohydrate diet. The practical part shows the results of glucose sensors (Free Style Libre, Dexcom G6 and Medtronic), which continuously measure blood sugar levels. In the practical part, eight respondents with type 1 diabetes, who switched the recommended diet for a low-carbohydrate diet, were surveyed in the form of a questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to assess the effects of switching to a low- carbohydrate diet on: the compensation of diabetes; the frequency of...