
This post is a visual representation of the story I posted previously (see: A Different Take- My Conversation With the Author: Diabetes Remission Data from Kaiser Permanente Shows that Patients are Right to Have Hope.
I needed to create a visual version for a set of slides I’m producing. Even then, it’s a little difficult to represent without a narrative attached, so…
The bad news, in the highest performing health systems practicing current care standards, diabetes remission is rare, death is more common
This paper, read in isolation, paints a grim picture of diabetes remission in the context of current care standards, even in the highest performing health systems in the United States – a greater percentage of patients die than go into remission in a typical year.
The good news, this century’s scientists are social and can provide the context stripped out of peer-review
Speaking to one of the authors, Shantanu Nundy, MD (@DrNundy) gave a much different picture, one of hope:

and

🥛 3/4 full
This is a great example of the era of social scientists, who go beyond the peer review process (in person communication, social media) to convey their findings and motivations in the interest of population health.
Also a great example of being 3/4 full 😀. The thing we were all taught in the last century isn’t possible, actually is. We just have to notice it.
As always, feel free to check my work in the comments.
Sources:
Karter AJ, Nundy S, Parker MM, Moffet HH, Huang ES. Incidence of Remission in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Diabetes Aging Study. Diabetes Care [Internet]. American Diabetes Association; 2014 Dec 1 [cited 2018 Jan 29];37(12):3188–95. Available from: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25231895; A Different Take- My Conversation With the Author: Diabetes Remission Data from Kaiser Permanente Shows that Patients are Right to Have Hope, www.tedeytan.com/2018/02/12/25131