Care of Diabetes and the Sacrifice of Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Equity
Abstract
The American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes published a 2022 consensus report recommending changes in diabetes care. This Perspective raises three concerns: with how the report summarizes evidence, how it frames the social determinants of health (SDOH), and with its transnational composition and conflicts of interest. The Perspective analyzes three new clinical recommendations that change the role of metformin from first-line therapy to a first-line option, for the inclusion of weight management as a co-primary treatment goal with glycemic control for patients without cardiac or renal complications, and for addition of the SDOH as a universal component of diabetes care together with lifestyle changes and self-management support. The Perspective considers how the poor evidence assessments of the recommendations and the imprecise framing of the SDOH introduce bias. The composition of the panel's membership poorly represents and accounts for the challenges faced by vulnerable US communities or safety net providers. The report is placed in a historical context for diabetes of organized medicine's failures to overcome prejudices and promote health equity. The Perspective concludes that the report perpetuates a pattern of prejudice within organized medicine at the expense of scientific precision and health equity.
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