Around 1200 people attended the Diabetes Health & Wellbeing Exhibition in the Limerick Strand Hotel, on Sunday 10th November.  This was a wonderful kick start to the World Diabetes Week celebrations taking place all this week.

Attendees availed of free tests such as HbA1c (which is the average blood glucose level for the previous three months), Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose Screening, Weight and Waist Circumference assessments, education workshops with high profile speakers and access to many exhibitors showcasing a range of the latest medical technology, healthy living stands and other diabetes related services and professionals

HbA1c testing was sponsored by Cruinn diagnostics with 60 individuals attending for testing. 14 of those had Type 1 diabetes and had an average HbA1c of 58 mmol/mol which is slightly above the recommended level of 53mmol/mol.

A further 14 individuals reported that they had Pre-diabetes, 50% of those had a HbA1c in the non-diabetes range indicating that they were delaying/preventing a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes as they had made positive changes to their lifestyle such as adopting healthier eating habits, increasing exercise and losing weight where necessary.

The majority who attended for HbA1c testing had Type 2 diabetes. The average result in this group indicated that their Diabetes was well controlled but in some cases individuals were advised to contact their Diabetes team as their HbA1c showed that their diabetes was poorly managed and was reported by the individual to have dis-improved from previous blood tests.

Those with Pre-diabetes/Type 2 diabetes were advised of the availability of free structured education programmes in their locality and all had visited the ‘Ask the Dietitian’ stand to have their questions answered.

Also on the day, 120 blood pressure reviews were completed with 13 referred to their GP and a further 85 people availed of the diabetes risk assessment with 11 referred to their GP for further review.

Hundreds of attendees availed of the various education forum workshops with presentations from a range of diabetes healthcare professionals and people living with the condition covering topics ranging from the latest developments in diabetes research and technology, food and diet through to tips to improve daily living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Ms Pauline Dunne, Diabetes Ireland said “The Exhibition was all about Education, Awareness and Empowerment for People with Diabetes. The attendance ranged in age from the very young to the elderly and the feedback was that there was something for everybody on the day.  The event showcased the range of products and services that encourage self-Management and all round wellness. Diabetes Ireland would like to thank all the staff, volunteers, speakers and attendees for making this event so successful, we are looking forward to 2020”.