LIVINGLIVING
INSTANT DIGITAL
We've all done a bit of a deeper 'dive' into digital due to lockdown. We
find five key findings about wearable tech and look at online support
'bubbles' to improve our health (and happiness). By Sue Marshall.
Now that 'virtual' has
become a reality, the
time is right for using
available technology
more in order to keep
in touch with our care teams. Most
of us have now had to do something
different with our diabetes due to Covid19, whether it be attending a 'virtual' clinic
either by phone or video, or finally starting
to send your diabetes data via apps,
emails or the cloud to your HCP.
Thanks to the coronavirus that
causes Covid-19 we have been getting
connected in ways that many might not
have ever expected to be possible.
Call it online, digital, virtual, we have
had to harness technology for our
ongoing health needs, whether we liked
it or not. Some of us may have been
early adopters, having done a virtual clinic
with our doctor, or gotten into the habit
of downloading and sending our data to
them. But for many, our recent leap into
all things digital made for some pretty big
changes in behaviours.
A study published in the journal Nature
pointed out that Type 2 diabetes and
hypertension were the most common
comorbidities for earlier coronavirus
infections too (including SARS and
MERS-CoV). The researchers cite
evidence of "a direct metabolic and
endocrine mechanistic link to the viral
disease process," and they emphasise
the importance of metabolic control amid
the pandemic. The article went on to
state, "This knowledge creates something
of a dilemma within chronic-disease care.
It's more important than ever that patients
with diabetes get the help they need, yet
amid the pandemic they have typically
been advised not to visit hospitals due to
the risk of infection. The result is a new
push from medical professionals and