Newbury, United Kingdom, November 11, 2009 – New independent research conducted amongst parents in the UK for Bayer Diabetes Care has shown that 1 in 2 parents would be unable to recognise the warning signs of a dangerous low blood glucose episode in their children, such as slurred speech (49%)[1] and paleness of skin (51%),¹ which can signal the onset of a ‘hypo’ or hypoglycaemic episode characterised by loss of consciousness.

The survey indicted a lack of awareness amongst parents around type-1 diabetes, with almost one in three incorrectly claiming that ‘children with type-1 diabetes can produce some insulin’. Three in five parents also had no idea that children with type-1 need to control their condition by injecting insulin (59%).¹ In fact, children with type-1 produce little or no insulin naturally, so they need to inject themselves with insulin daily and regularly monitor their blood glucose in order to manage their condition optimally.

The research funded by Bayer Diabetes Care also revealed other popular misconceptions. Less than a third of parents (28%) were unaware that the cause of type-1 diabetes is unknown, with 34% of them citing that too much sugar in the diet is the cause.1 18% of parents surveyed incorrectly thought that weight gain was a symptom of type-1 diabetes, whilst almost half of parents surveyed (49%) thought that children with type-1 cannot eat or drink any sugar, which is also a myth.¹

One in three parents said that they would be worried if they found out that a close friend of their child had type-1 diabetes, with 18% feeling concerned that the friend might experience a ‘hypo’ and faint whilst in their care.¹ Older parents aged between 45-54 were the most conscientious with the majority (69%) of them claiming that they would make efforts to find out more about the condition, whereas 1 in 5 young parents aged 16-24 (20%), claimed that they would be too embarrassed to ask about what they could and could not feed their child’s friend.¹

“With incidence of type-1 diabetes increasing year on year, it is vital that the public are better educated and more aware of this serious autoimmune condition.  Type 1 diabetes is a chronic and life-threatening condition, but with the correct support there is no reason that anyone living with the condition shouldn’t lead full, healthy lives” said Karen Addington, Chief Executive of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Getting their children into good habits early is a priority for most parents, however for parents who have children with type-1 diabetes it is critical. One of the biggest challenges they face is trying to instil the habit of regular blood glucose testing. The new research funded by Bayer Diabetes Care revealed that when it comes to establishing daily routines for children, the majority of parents agree that one of the most successful ways of doing this is to make things ‘fun’ (57%).¹ It is no surprise therefore that over 70%¹ of parents with young children, between 6-8 years old, admit to using game playing as a means to establish a daily routine with their children.

With this in mind, Bayer Diabetes Care in the UK and Ireland, has recently launched ”DIDGET^™, the first and only blood glucose meter for children with type-1 diabetes that connects directly to Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DS™ Lite gaming systems. The DIDGET^™ meter is designed to help children manage this lifelong condition by rewarding them for building consistent blood glucose testing habits and meeting personalised glucose targets.

“The DIDGET^™ meter is a revolutionary development in healthcare management. Up until now, blood glucose monitors have been created with adults in mind,” says Sandra Peterson, Head of Bayer Medical Care.“ This product was inspired by a parent of a child with diabetes, to directly address the challenges facing children with diabetes and their parents.  DIDGET^™ offers play with purpose to encourage children to regularly monitor their blood glucose and begin to view regular testing as fun.”

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Media Contacts:

Rachel Owen                                                            Gisela Lenz

Bayer Diabetes Care                                                  Bayer HealthCare  

+44 1635 563410                                                           + 49 214 30 58080

+44 7836 509262                                                        gisela.lenz@bayerhealthcare.com

rachel.owen.ro@bayer.co.uk      

Notes to Editors

This research for Bayer Diabetes Care was carried out online by Opinion Matters between 09/10/2009 and 19/10/2009 amongst a nationally representative sample of 1134 UK parents of 6-14 year olds. Opinion Matters adheres to and follows the codes of the MRS (Market Research Society) and are fully registered and compliant with the Data Protection Register.

About Diabetes in the UK

An estimated 25,000 children under the age of 18 in the UK have diabetes2. Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. In persons with type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin, and therefore people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin for the rest of their lives3. All people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes must carefully balance food, medications, and activity level to keep blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible in order to avoid long term complications of diabetes.

About Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care
Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care supports customers in 100 countries and stands in a long tradition of leading the way in diabetes care product innovation since the introduction of CLINITEST reagent tablets in 1941. The face of diabetes care was changed in 1969 when the first portable blood glucose meter and test strips were introduced. Bayer HealthCare further innovated diabetes management by being the first company to introduce a suite of blood glucose monitors with No Coding™ technology. The BREEZE® 2 and CONTOUR® blood glucose monitoring systems offer people with diabetes an unparalleled choice in diabetes management systems. Bayer Healthcare Diabetes Care launched the Around U programme in July 2008 to support children and young people living with diabetes.  Designed to present useful information in a fun and exciting way, Around U provides online information as well as access to free of charge support materials through the website, www.bayerdiabetes.co.uk/aroundu. Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care global headquarters is located in Tarrytown, New York, in the United States and operates as part of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the worldwide Bayer HealthCare group. The Headquarters for the region Europe-MERA is located in Basel as part of Bayer Con­sumer Care AG.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Bayer Schering Pharma, Consumer Care and Medical Care divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com  The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.