CONSENSUS STATEMENT Adult Vaccination: A Critical Element to a Life Course Approach to Healthy Ageing for Adults with Diabetes

By | 29th November 2018

Diabetes is a significant global public health concern with wide ranging social and economic consequences. In the United Kingdom close to 4 million people live with diabetes, [1] with associated costs expected to reach £16.9 billion by 2035. [2]

Older people with diabetes often deal with additional chronic conditions which together result in a weakened immune system, lowering their defenses against vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) such as influenza, [3] pneumonia [4] and shingles [5].

On 6-7 September 2018, the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) hosted a “Vaccinations and the At-risk Adult Population of Diabetes” expert meeting in Belfast, United Kingdom, in cooperation with Diabetes UK, the leading charity dedicated to
people with diabetes in the United Kingdom.

The multidisciplinary meeting brought together experts in the fields of public health, diabetes, ageing, immunology and sociology from Diabetes UK, Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, Age NI, ILC-UK, Diabetes Frail Ltd., Dingwall Enterprises Ltd., Pfizer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast and Imperial
College London.

These key opinion leaders came together to build capacity and gather resources on the importance of adult vaccination for people with diabetes; share knowledge on successful education programs and determine optimal ways to push the agenda forward.

A Consensus Statement was produced which can be found at https://www.ifa-fiv.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Belfast-Consensus-Statement-25.pdf

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