Pros and cons of insulin pump use and differences by age: results of a national survey — ASN Events
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Pros and cons of insulin pump use and differences by age: results of a national survey (#32)

Karen Byng 1 , Daniel Palamara 1 , Roslyn Seselja 1 , Susana Senes 1 , Jeff R Flack 2 , Glynis P Ross 2
  1. National Centre for Monitoring Diabetes, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  2. Diabetes Centre, Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Bankstown, NSW, Australia, on behalf of the National Diabetes Data Working Group

Background: While insulin pumps in Australia are increasing in popularity, there has been no national reporting of people using pumps, their characteristics or experiences.
Aim: To provide up-to-date national information about people with Type 1 diabetes using insulin pumps and their experiences.
Methods: The number and characteristics of insulin pump users were determined from de-identified National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) data. The experiences of pump users were gauged through a 2011 survey of NDSS registrants with Type 1 diabetes flagged as pump users.
Results: As at June 2011, 10,500 (10%) Australians with Type 1 diabetes used insulin pumps. There were 5,680 respondents (59% of those surveyed), representative of all insulin pump users on the NDSS. Users were more likely to be female and younger.
Key reasons for pump use were: better diabetes management (88%); improved lifestyle flexibility (67%); and preventing long-term health problems (66%). Reasons for use varied with age. For those over 60, doctor or diabetes educator recommendations dominated; for 18–24 year olds, lifestyle reasons dominated; for those under 12, diabetes management and preventing long-term complications were most important.
The benefits of insulin pump therapy far outweighed any problems. Key identified benefits were: pump therapy fitted their lifestyle (86%); improved diabetes management (83%); and relocating the cannula was viewed as better than several daily injections (76%). User age influenced this, for example, benefits to lifestyle and being able to eat a variety of foods were considered greater benefits by those aged <25 compared with older users.
The expense of pump consumables was the biggest problem, with 32% of users overall indicating consumables were too expensive. For those aged 25–45 years, this figure was 39%.
Conclusions: This study provides an up-to-date national picture of insulin pump usage in Australia. Experiences were very positive overall but vary with age.

Acknowledgement: National Diabetes Data Working Group which is the Advisory Committee to the National Centre for Monitoring Diabetes at AIHW.