Diabetes patients face widespread blame and shame, research reveals

Four out of five adults with diabetes experience stigma, blame, or shame related to their condition, according to new research. Dr Liz Holmes-Truscott, deputy director of the Australian Centre for Behaviour Research in Diabetes, has spent 16 years studying the issue. She states that negative labeling comes from the public, media, families, and even doctors.

Patient Impact

Stigma often takes the form of subtle everyday comments rather than open discrimination. Patients report being asked if they should be eating certain foods at family meals or questioned strictly about medication use during medical visits. A 2024 study in The Lancet co-authored by Holmes-Truscott confirmed that four in five adults face this judgment. A separate 2026 research review found that some patients delay medical appointments, hide their condition, or withhold glucose levels from their doctors out of fear.

The Lifestyle Label

Holmes-Truscott argues that calling diabetes a lifestyle disease is unhelpful and inaccurate. While high body weight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, other causes are completely outside a person's control, including age, genetics, ethnicity, and socio-economic background. She points out that gestational diabetes during pregnancy affects up to one in six women, with higher rates seen among Māori and Pacific people. Holmes-Truscott experienced this judgment firsthand eight years ago when told over the phone by a doctor she had never met to cut out junk food following her own gestational diabetes diagnosis.

Context

Health experts emphasize that medical conditions are complex health issues rather than personal failures. Understanding the social and biological factors behind illnesses helps medical staff provide better support to patients without causing distress.