Australians under pump
August 17, 2012
THE latest Insulin pump use in
Australia report from the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare has
found that the use of insulin pumps
to manage Type 1 diabetes is increasing
and more people are starting on a
pump sooner after diagnosis.
The report found that at 30 June
2011 there were 10,510 insulin pump
users in Australia (around 10% of
people with Type 1 diabetes).
Almost 50% of all insulin pump
users were under 25 years old and
over 60% were female, the report
found.
“Between 2004 and 2010, the
number of new insulin pump users
with Type 1 diabetes rose from an
average of 107 to 140 per month,”
said the AIHW’s Susana Senes.
“People with Type 1 diabetes now
begin using insulin pump therapy
relatively sooner after diagnosis
than in the past.
“In 1997, less than 1% began
using an insulin pump within 2
years of diagnosis; in 2009, this had
risen to 18%,” she added.
According to the report, 88% of
diabetics said they chose to use a
pump because of better control of
diabetes, whilst 86% of pump users
said the main benefit of pump use
was the ease with which it fitted in
with their lifestyle.
Despite the rise in pump usage
however, the report did find that
the cost to obtain one (between
$4,000 and $9,000) was a
significant barrier to pump usage.
A third of pump users also
expressed concerns over the cost of
pump consumables, with the
ongoing average cost of
consumables being $29 per month,
compared with a $6 per month
all-up cost for injection therapy.
In light of this, unsurprisingly the
report found that insulin pump use
was more common among people
living in areas of high
socioeconomic status.
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