Summary: In 1974, after diabetics and their representatives made Congress aware of the significant diabetes-associated medical problems occuring nationwide, the National Diabetes Research and Education Act was passed. Congressional recognition of the magnitude and severity of the diabetes problem has led to increased Federal emphasis on research since the mid-1970's.
During fiscal years 1977 and 1978, the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases established four diabetes research and training centers and expanded the role of four of its six existing research centers to include dissemination of information on diabetes and training of health professionals in the delivery of health care services to diabetics. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has expanded research efforts since that time to include support of regional diabetes research and training centers. To overcome data collection problems that have hampered some research efforts, NIH is working on a system to improve the usefulness of data collected on diabetes and the medical complications it causes. The Center for Disease Control operates a diabetes control program which funds demonstration projects in 12 States to determine whether diabetes-related medical complications can be reduced through increased emphasis on education on diabetes control. The program encourages project officials to set goals and priorities in an effort to clarify the problems of diabetes, to improve the coordination of public and private resources, and to improve the quality of data collected on deaths and illnesses caused by diabetes.
