VA Pushes Anti-Diabetes Campaign

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Watch Your Weight, Keep up Physical Activity
VA Continuing Diabetes Education Drive
WASHINGTON (November 13, 2007) - Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Gordon H. Mansfield said today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
plans to expand its efforts to prevent and control diabetes as part of
an ongoing campaign to help veterans eat healthy, watch their weight and
stay physically active.

"With over 25 percent of VA patients living with diabetes, it is
important to find ways to bring this disease under control," said
Mansfield. "VA is doing more than ever to educate our veterans,
research this disease and provide the type of specialized care that
diabetes demands."

Mansfield noted the Department has provided diabetic care to 70,000
veterans in more than 200,000 hospital and clinic visits since 2005.

Mansfield said VA plans to keep expanding its diabetes awareness effort
as part of the Department's broader HealthierUS Veterans campaign. Last
year, television stations around the nation aired more than 3,000
VA-produced broadcasts about eating healthy and staying active. The
Department held a symposium for health care professionals in Washington,
D.C., and several public events around the country to inform veterans of
the dangers of diabetes.

Annual evaluations of veterans with diabetes show small but continuing
improvements in tested levels of blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and blood
pressure with treatment, including weight management.

VA's tele-health program allows patients with diabetes to monitor and
transmit their blood pressure and blood glucose levels from home to VA
facilities, thus improving their access to care and allowing them to
take control of their own health through improved communication from
home with their health care providers.

VA's research programs include centers investigating insulin resistance,
vascular damage and obesity, pre-clinical studies of new agents to
prevent and treat diabetes and clinical trials of new ways to prevent
kidney damage.

Other VA research is seeking ways to reduce diabetes complications that
lead to disability, focusing on preventing loss of limbs and avoiding
obesity among paraplegic patients likely to gain weight due to reduced
movement. VA researchers also are examining the interplay between
genetics and the environment in determining glucose metabolism and
weight gain or loss.

Some veterans with diabetes qualify for VA disability compensation.
Those veterans must have a diagnosis of diabetes and evidence that it
began or was aggravated during active duty or within one year of release
from duty. Since 2001, veterans who served in Vietnam and later
developed adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes have been eligible for
disability compensation. This policy affecting Vietnam veterans is an
outgrowth of research into the effects of Agent Orange.



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