100 years of insulin – looking to the past, present, and future of diabetes, Australia’s fastest growing chronic disease
SYDNEY, 14th November: This World Diabetes Day, 14th November 2021, marks insulin’s 100th Birthday – one of the most important discoveries in medical history, that in 1921 marked the start of a medical journey that has fundamentally changed the lives of people living with diabetes. Since then, each new understanding and medical innovation has brought fresh hope of a full and healthy life to those living with diabetes.
Currently, 1.8 million Australians are living with diabetes, our fastest growing chronic disease.1 Of these, 1.4 million use insulin each and every day to control their diabetes and prevent complications, particularly cardiovascular disease.2 Australians with Type 1 diabetes actively use daily insulin along with two out of three Australians living with Type 2 diabetes.
Described by many as the ‘silent pandemic’, the prevalence of diabetes has increased by 30% in Australia in the last 8 years and alarmingly, the incidence in young children is on the rise.3,4 The diabetes community has been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than one in four Australians (30%) in COVID ICU having diabetes.5
In addition to the stressors of COVID-19, new findings reveal Australians living with diabetes still feel stigma against them, with more than one in four saying negative attitudes towards their condition affect their mental health.6 This can impact people’s willingness to seek help or even delay medications, leading to increased levels of hesitancy in starting insulin, despite rapid advancements in the technology.6
Stepping back 100 years, before the development of insulin, children with Type 1 diabetes often unfortunately didn’t live past their fifth birthday.7 The arrival of insulin and its evolution from poorly refined extracts of animal tissue to the precisely controlled human analogues we have today, has saved millions of lives globally.7
Modern day insulins come in a vast variety of formats that are tightly tailored to the individual requiring treatment by diabetes experts. Insulins can be fast- or long-acting and are delivered by discrete ‘pens’ or ‘pumps’ that can tracked tightly with modern App technology.8,9
“There have been generational leaps in insulin innovation in our lifetime. It is a remarkable life-saving treatment, but despite its astounding role, hesitancy in starting insulin remains, particularly with Type 2 diabetes,” says A/Prof Sof Andrikopoulos, head of the Australian Diabetes Society and University of Melbourne researcher. “Insulin is now extremely advanced and needs to be viewed as a critical tool in managing diabetes – a positive way to step on the front foot and not a last resort or failure.”
“As we mark insulin’s 100th anniversary during this pandemic – it’s also important we consider the broader needs of the diabetes community, actively supporting them to manage their condition more effectively but also addressing the ongoing stigma associated with it,” adds A/Prof Andrikopoulos.
“This World Diabetes Day, I encourage the community to reconsider their views and attitudes towards diabetes. A person with diabetes does not choose to have diabetes. We can be thankful that year on year, the medical field comes out with new treatment options to help manage and fight diabetes. The fight must be on multiple fronts and as a community, we have an important role to play in showing understanding and consideration to people living with diabetes,” says endocrinologist A/Prof Sarah Glastras from the Northern Sydney Endocrine Centre, St Leonards.
Australia’s critical manufacturing role
While it was four Canadian researchers who isolated insulin from the pancreas and refined it back in 1921, it was Professor Thorburn Brailsford Robertson at the University of Adelaide who two years later in 1923 worked out the path for large scale manufacture.10
Professor Robertson’s work successfully devised a way to produce insulin cheaply, quickly, and in greater volume than anywhere else in the world. These substantial steps taken 100 years ago represented the start of an incredible journey towards saving and improving the lives of millions with diabetes around the globe.10
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