Disease Awareness in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Analysis of Baseline Data From the SMART-Finder Observational Study

Patients with T2DM who were using an adherence-supporting app in Germany lacked awareness of CKD-related biomarkers but had high knowledge of self-manageable biomarkers (eg, blood pressure, serum fasting glucose, and HbA1c values). Our results suggest that treating physicians either do not test for UACRs and eGFRs or do not inform patients about the results. Nonadherence to diagnostic testing guidelines and a lack of physician-patient communication put patients at risk. Another reason for this health literacy imbalance may be the focus on HbA1c instead of kidney comorbidity in patient education material. Future goals for diabetes management must include guideline-compliant testing of CKD-related biomarkers and open physician-patient communication.