Düsseldorf, 29.08.2017

DDZ Introduces Germany-Wide Initiative “Diabetes – Not Only a Question of Type”

In Germany, 600,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes each year. The disease can have a significant impact on the lives of those affected and their quality of life. Apart from the burden of the disease, the costs of medical care for people with diabetes are with 5000 euros per year twice as high as for healthy people due to diabetes complications. With the support of the Federal Ministry of Health, the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) has developed the nationwide initiative "DIABETES - NOT ONLY A QUESTION OF TYPE". Its intention is to raise awareness for diabetes.

The initiative has created 16 short and informative films (in German) on diabetes mellitus. Important questions about the metabolic disease are generally treated, and facts and information are conveyed in a compact way. The thematic spectrum ranges from preventive medical check-ups, the importance of diet and exercise, an overview of how diabetes develops, and the difference between the diabetes types and their respective treatments. Diabetes in everyday life, social aspects, diabetes and age, and the impact on work life are also addressed. "In order to be able to successfully implement prevention and therapy, it is crucial to comprehensively inform  at-risk groups and people with diabetes about the disease and its sequelae and comorbidities," said Professor Michael Roden, chairman of the board of the German Diabetes Center. "Conversations with people affected by the disease show that social media are increasingly being used as sources of information. However, independent and quality-assured information is mostly lacking there. With this new initiative, we want to bridge this gap," Roden went on to say.

In eleven realistic film clips, important questions about the metabolic disease diabetes mellitus are presented in an easy-to-understand manner, and facts and information are conveyed in a compact overview. Complications and accompanying diseases of diabetes are presented in five animated films. The animations were deliberately selected to illustrate the complex interrelationships clearly and concisely. The focus is on diseases of the nervous system, kidney and eye diseases, as well as diseases of the liver and the cardiovascular system.

The aim is to provide information in particular to people who are hardly reached by traditional media and, through patient education, to increase their health competence. The videos are available on the website www.diabetes-typ.de and social media channels such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Channels such as Facebook offer a platform for questions from people who are interested and concerned, which are answered by experts of the DDZ.

The ambassadors of the initiative are the moderator Dr. Christine Theiss and the Olympics winner Matthias Steiner, who has had type 1 diabetes for years.


Social media channels of the initiative “Diabetes – Not Only a Question of Type”
•    www.diabetes-typ.de
•    https://www.facebook.com/diabetes.typ/
•    https://www.youtube.com/user/diabeteszentrum


The German Diabetes Center (DDZ)  is a German reference center for diabetes. Its objective is to contribute to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. At the same time, the research center aims at improving the epidemiological data situation in Germany. The DDZ coordinates the multicenter German Diabetes Study and is a point of contact for all players in the health sector. In addition, it prepares scientific information on diabetes mellitus and makes it available to the public. The DDZ is part of the Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, WGL) and is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.).

Recent press releases of the DDZ are available at www.ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de 

The  press photos of the DDZ may be used for editorial purposes only and should be attributed under “Photo Credits” as: "Source: DDZ e.V." There is no charge for the use of photos, but please send us a copy or a reference to the respective publication. 

For more information, please contact:
Christina A. Becker
Head, Press and Public Relations
German Diabetes Center (DDZ)
Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research
at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf
Phone: +49(0)211-3382-450
email: Christina.Becker(at)ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de

Dr. Olaf Spörkel
Head, National Diabetes Information Center
/ RIN German Diabetes Center (DDZ)
Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research
at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf
Phone: +49(02)11-3382-507
email: Olaf.Spoerkel(at)ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de


Press contact

Birgit Niesing


+49 (0)89 3187-3971

Source: DDZ e.V. Screenshot from the explanatory film "Diabetes and Kidney Disease"
Source: DDZ e.V. Screenshot from the explanatory film "Diabetes – Prevention"