New research suggests people with diabetes in the UK are worried that Brexit could disrupt the supplies of insulin. There are over a million individuals with diabetes living in the UK who need insulin. The study is published in JMIR Diabetes.
Researchers from the University of York analysed 4000 social media posts from the UK and the US to assess the experiences of insulin-dependent individuals.
A quarter of all health-related posts were made by patients with diabetes and around 9 per cent of all posts were related to the availability of insulin. When pre-Brexit tweets posted in 2019 were analysed, it was found that people in the UK were concerned about insulin availability irrespective of the outcome of Brexit negotiations. Several people also discussed stockpiling insulin. Patients in the US were mainly concerned about the cost of insulin.
Dr Su Golder from the University of York's Department of Health Sciences said: “This research gives an insight into the real-life issues individuals face when taking anti-diabetic drugs. It shows there is a fear of not having access to insulin, whether due to cost or physical availability and also highlights the impact of the sacrifices made to access insulin.”
JMIR Diabetes 2021;6(1):e24681 doi: 10.2196/24681. PMID: 33496671
This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
