IDF Europe Newsletter – February 2026

THE BURDEN OF STIGMA IN TYPE 2 DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most pressing and complex public health challenges facing Europe today. Its rising prevalence is driven by a complex interplay of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Today, more than 60 million people across Europe live with T2D, a number that continues to grow. T2D is complex not only in its underlying causes but also in its management. It requires continuous self-management, access to various health services and personalised support. People living with T2D need to navigate blood glucose monitoring, lifestyle interventions and medication management. This includes attending regular medical examinations, monitoring for early signs of complications and coordinating care for
multiple chronic conditions where present — all while balancing work, family and daily responsibilities.

Beyond these practical and medical challenges, many also face another, less visible burden: stigma. Diabetes-related stigma is shaped by societal narratives that frame T2D primarily as a result of individual lifestyle choices. These narratives are reflected in the media, public discourse and, at time, in interpersonal and healthcare interactions. This framing does not account for the complex social, environmental, genetic and economic factors that influence health outcomes and unfairly attributes the condition as the person’s fault. Experiences of stigma and judgement, whether encountered in society, in
interpersonal relationships or within clinical settings, can deter people from seeking care at an appropriate time or disclosing their condition. It also prevents open dialogue with healthcare professionals, delaying access to the appropriate care. This includes, for example, psychological support, tailored lifestyle interventions, timely treatment review and adaptation, and guidance from other specialists such as dietitians or physical activity experts to enable more personalised management. Feelings of shame and judgement can take a profound toll on a person’s mental well-being, self-esteem and social relationships. This may lead to isolation and emotional distress, reducing engagement with one’s own self-management, ultimately compounding the already significant burden of living with a chronic condition.

During our recent event at the European Parliament (EP) on the growing burden of diabetes and obesity, Linda Kølleskov, Diabetes Advocate from our T2gether network living with T2D and bowel disease, shared her experience at the time of her diagnosis and the challenges she faced in finding the right treatment:

“When I was diagnosed with T2D, my first reaction was not fear. It was shame. Shame so strong that I decided almost no one
should know — not because I didn’t understand the disease, but because I understood the stigma attached to it. […] It was difficult having to try so many different treatments before finding the right one. It made me feel like a constant failure — as if it was my own fault that my blood sugar didn’t improve and as if I wasn’t fighting hard enough. But I am also very aware that this feeling of mine exists precisely because it is diabetes: because of the shame and stigma around diabetes; because of people believing it’s a result of living unhealthy and being overweight. I have never felt the same shame or stigma during all the years we tried to find the right treatment for my bowel disease.”

T2D can be further complicated by the frequent co-occurrence of other conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), renal diseases and obesity. Living with obesity, for example, not only heightens the risk of developing complications, but also complicates management strategies by affecting medication needs and, requiring other tailored interventions — ultimately increasing a person’s physical, emotional, and daily-life burden. Additionally, the stigma surrounding these conditions can be amplified as people living with both T2D and obesity may be subject to negative attitudes about weight as well as about diabetes, and experience heightened feelings of shame and social pressure.

“I am very happy with the easy access to our diabetes clinic in the Faroe Islands. We talk about diet, exercise and weight loss, but early in the process I noticed that at every visit to the diabetes clinic, I was asked, and I am still asked, to step on the scale. This constantly reinforces, in the back of my mind, that weight and disease go hand in hand — even if no one says it out loud. My wish is: Please stop weighing us every time, and instead ask: How are you doing? And how can we help you?”

Stigma can act as a barrier to timely diagnosis,
open communication and sustained follow-up and, despite new innovations in prevention and treatment strategies, it continues to hinder access to care — all of which are critical to preventing disease progression, enabling remission where possible and reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications. If people living with diabetes (PwD) felt more comfortable disclosing their diagnosis and more supported by their social environment and healthcare team, they would be more likely to access the right care and support and the right time. Several studies have shown that supportive interactions, open communication and reduced stigma in social and healthcare settings are associated with greater engagement in care, more effective self-management and improved health outcomes.

As Linda reminds us: “Stigma does not lower blood glucose. Shame does not heal bodies. But compassion, continuity of care and access to movement, treatment and support, those do.”

YOUTH PLATFORM

Applications for the IDF Europe 2026 Youth Leadership Lab are open!

Are you between 18 and 30 years old and would like to become part of a dynamic community of young diabetes advocates?

Join the IDF Europe Youth Leadership Lab (YLL) 2026!

MEMBER NEWS

DiaVolley Cup held in Bratislava Slovakia!

IDF EUROPE NEWS, ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS 

Event report: “Addressing the growing prevalence of diabetes and obesity”

European Commission High-Level Conference on medical devices

On March 16, IDF Europe Director, Strategy & Policy, Sabine Dupont, will participate in the European Commission High-Level Conference on “Medical devices: innovation and patient safety” organised under the auspices of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council.

As part of a case study session on continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), Sabine Dupont will highlight the importance of harmonised standards to ensure safe and effective devices are placed on the European market, stressing the need for robust and transparent clinical evidence
to inform procurement decisions and support high-quality clinical practice, ultimately strengthening patient safety and access to diabetes technologies across Europe.

HEALTH RELATED NEWS

MMD NEWS

The MMD Group welcomes three new members!

The MEP Interest Group on Diabetes – MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes (MMD) aims to represent the interests of PwD, their relatives and carers as well as those at risk by elevating diabetes on the public agenda and fostering key policy changes in Europe. The MMD group is delighted to welcome three new members: MEPs Olivier Chastel, Estelle Ceulemans and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.

UNDERSTANDING DIABETES

EU RESEARCH PROJECTS

News from the MOVEUP project

READINGS ON DIABETES

Readings on Diabetes, presented to IDF Europe by Angelo Argenteri, MD, Maria Stella de Sabata, MA, and Andrea Ascoli Marchetti, MD, is a journey through the major diabetes milestones, one of the oldest and still most widespread diseases, with anecdotes, stories, historical facts and a very rich iconography.

Each month, the IDF Europe Newsletter presents a chapter from Readings on Diabetes, which can be downloaded in full here.

12. Christian Doppler: death in Venice

In the routine follow-up of PwD, the Doppler test has become a standard, familiar tool. Non-invasive and generally reliable, though dependent on the operator’s skill, it allows clinicians to evaluate blood flow and identify arterial narrowing before serious complications develop. The man behind the name is Christian Doppler.

Born in Salzburg in 1809 into a family of marble merchants, Doppler was physically unsuited to manual work and encouraged instead to pursue his aptitude for mathematics. After years of uncertain academic prospects, he found a stable position
in Prague, where in 1842 he presented a study on the coloured light of binary stars. In it, he described the principle that now bears his name: the change in frequency of waves emitted by a moving source relative to an observer.

Today, that same principle makes it possible to measure the velocity of blood cells and detect vascular stenosis in PwD. Doppler died in Venice in 1853, unaware that his theoretical insight would become a routine instrument of modern medicine.

UPCOMING EVENTS ACROSS EUROPE

Kick-off meeting Interdisciplinary Disease Collaboration (IDC): “Bridging the Gap: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Respiratory Infections and NCDs”
Online, March 5, 2026 | Follow the live stream here

IDF Europe Symposium at ATTD 2026: “From diabetes detection to cure: turning vision into reality”
Barcelona, March 13, 2026 | For more information, click here

European Commission High-Level Conference: “Medical Devices: Innovation and Patient Safety”
Brussels and online, March 16, 2026 | The streaming link will become available here

European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 61st Annual Meeting 
Milan, September 28 – October 2, 2026 | For more information, click here

Follow us on social media!

Make sure to follow us to stay up to date with our latest news and events:

Do you want to know more about IDF Europe’s news and events? Please confirm that you are still happy to hear from us!