The International Diabetes Management Practices Study (IDMPS) - Turkey’s 5th Wave Results

Purpose: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing in Turkey due to rising obesity rates, sedentary life styles and Turkey’s aging population; up-to-date and standardized data collection is required for the global fight against diabetes. The data collected from Turkey during the 5th wave of a multinational, multi-center and observational study are evaluated in this article. Material and Method: The International Diabetes Management Practices Study (IDMPS) which is an international, observational multicenter, cross-sectional study, evaluated demographic and clinical characteristics of diabetic patients, treatment modalities, complications, cardiovascular risk factors and also reported the results of the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results: This study consisted of 842 T2DM and 115 Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients and was carried out by 94 doctors in Turkey between December 13th 2011 and January 26th 2012. Data revealed that 52% of patients were treated with oral anti-diabetic (OAD) drugs only, 29% were treated with OAD + insulin, and 18% of subjects were treated with insulin alone. 88% of T2DM patients had at least one microvascular complication and 99% had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Only 27% of T1DM and 28% of T2DM patients reached the target hemoglobin A1c value of <7%. PHQ-9 results revealed that majority of patients did not have a depressive disorder (79% for both T1DM and T2DM). Discussion: Attainment and maintenance of the internationally recommended optimal glycemic values is essential for effective treatment of diabetes. Almost 72% of T2DM patients in Turkey did not reach the target values. Diabetes patient education aiming to provide the knowledge necessary to make and maintain lifestyle changes is necessary

Towards a comprehensive tobacco-cessation approach: A pilot-training using simulation based-learning among medical students in Türkiye

Dear Editor, Tobacco control (TC) is underpinned in two main strategies: preventing youth initiation and promoting tobacco cessation among users1 . Healthcare professionals (HCPs), and specially physicians, should lead TC advocacy efforts, emphasize their role as TC leaders and exemplars, and disseminate TC and tobacco-cessation training, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level