In This Issue of Diabetes Care

Two-Thirds of Individuals Surveyed Were Unaware of Cardiovascular Risk Associated With DiabetesA globally administered survey, reported by Chaudhary et al. (p.379), suggests that about two-thirds of individuals in 50 high-and middle-income countries are unaware of diabetes being a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.Given the predicted increases in the global burden of diabetes over the next 25 years (a 50% increase), the authors urge that concerted actions are needed now to raise awareness of the risks involved.They do note, however, that addressing the knowledge gap will require a complex multifaceted strategy tailored to different audiences, and that it will likely need the active engagement of multiple stakeholders and significant levels of investment.The findings come from an online YouGov survey that was conducted by the American Heart Association in 2021 and asked questions broadly related to heart disease.In this secondary analysis, the authors focused on one question that aimed to identify the level of awareness of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, one of which was diabetes.They also examined variation according to demographics, geography, and economic development.There were just under 49,000 respondents, with ~16,000, or one-third, identifying diabetes as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.Awareness levels were similar among men and women but did increase with age.Awareness levels were also higher in high-income countries compared with those classed as middle income.Meanwhile, the spread of awareness is notable, ranging from 7.4% in Slovenia to 47.3% in Lithuania.No low-income countries were included in the survey because of the limited capacity of the survey vendor to provide nationally representative samples via its online design at the time of the survey."The knowledge gap identified in our study has important public health consequences," said author Dhruv S. Kazi."People with this knowledge may also be more likely to get screened and treated for diabetes and may be more likely to make the lifestyle changes necessary for preventing cardiovascular disease."