Diabetes prevention and control in China

(en.nhfpc.gov.cn/)

Updated: 2016-04-08

I. Diabetes development in China 

Diabetes prevalence rate among those 18 or above stood at 9.7 percent in 2012, according to the 2015 report on the Chinese population’s nutrition and chronic diseases. The number of patients was roughly 100 million, with urban patients accounted for 12.3 percent and rural ones 8.4 percent. Their rate of awareness about the disease stood at 36.1 percent; the treatment rate at 33.4 percent; and the control rate 30.6 percent. 

II. Prevention and control work development and achievement

First, a total of 15 government departments, including health and development and reform administrations, jointly issued the chronic disease prevention and control work plan (2012-2015) in 2012. The plan specified work goals and strategic measures on prevention and control of diabetes and other chronic diseases. China has issued several guidelines over the years, such as those on adult overweight and obesity prevention and control, and Chinese diet and type 2 diabetes prevention and control to push for scientific and standard diabetes control and prevention work. 

Second, diabetes prevention has been actively carried out. World Diabetes Day and other themed publicity events and health knowledge popularization programs have been used to widely spread information on diabetes prevention and control and raise public health literacy. Public healthy lifestyle campaigns have been pushed forward to advocate rational diet and adequate exercise and reduce smoking and drinking. By the end of December 2015, more than 80 percent of counties (districts) nationwide have launched public healthy lifestyle campaigns. 

III. Strengthen diabetes patient management. Diabetes patient management has been incorporated in the national essential public health services since 2009. It’s offered to urban and rural residents for free and covers health education, patient screening, follow-up evaluation, annual health checks and classified intervention. As of the end of 2014, a total of 25 million diabetes patients were under management. Comprehensive and continuous standard diabetes management systems have improved. 

IV. Improve diabetes monitoring system. Monitoring systems for chronic diseases and risk factors, including diabetes, have been improved by degrees. Prevalence rates of major chronic diseases and health service utilization data have been continuously and systematically collected for a long time to help understand diseases and their development, formulate pertinent disease prevention and control policies and assess related work. 

V. Carry out a tiered system of medical care service for diabetes. In 2015, the State Council’s General Office issued guidance on pushing for development of the tiered system and asked relevant parties to focus on hypertension and diabetes and launch pilot programs to fight them. To date, a total of 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and Sichuan province’s Wenchuan county have begun the diabetes tiered system work. Medical teams consisting of doctors from hospitals above second level and medical personnel from community medical facilities have offered quality on-site services for patients.