The Fremantle Diabetes Study
The Fremantle Diabetes Study (FDS) is a unique and internationally recognised longitudinal community-based diabetes natural history study.
About us
When the Fremantle Diabetes Study (FDS) was conceived in 1991 by its chief investigator Professor Tim Davis, there were few published longitudinal community-based diabetes natural history studies.
Additionally, Australia-specific aspects had not been well characterised including the disproportionately large number of people with diabetes from a migrant background and the important question of diabetes in indigenous groups.
Phase I (FDS1) started in 1993, recruiting people with known diabetes living in a stable multi-ethnic community forming the Fremantle Hospital primary catchment area.
This is a postcode-defined population (currently approximately 180,000) living in and around the port of Fremantle, Western Australia. FDS1 aimed to examine clinically relevant aspects of diabetes including usual care, metabolic control, complications and cost. Since FDS1, there have been a number of changes in diabetes epidemiology and management, justifying further study.
Phase II (FDS2) is an extension of the initial research, collecting parallel data from the same geographical area starting in 2008. The >3,000 participants in both Phases are still being followed through linked health databases. FDS findings have appeared in >160 publications over the last 25 years.
Our Goals
- To determine the multi-faceted nature of diabetes in a representative urban Australian setting
- To obtain data that help patients with diabetes to better understand their condition, that assist clinicians in managing people with diabetes, and which can be used in planning diabetes services in the community
Research Paper Highlights
- 1. A prospective study of depression and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study
- 2. Effect of a pharmaceutical care program on vascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study
- 3. Glycemic exposure is associated with reduced pulmonary function in type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study
- 4. Identification of novel circulating biomarkers predicting rapid decline in renal function in type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II
- 5. Severe hypoglycaemia and cognitive impairment in older patients with diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study
- More Research and Publications
Collaborations
Significant Funding
News
Study finds decline in heart attack and stroke in Type 2 diabetics
A study by The University of Western Australian and Fremantle Hospital with support from the Raine Foundation and NHMRC has found the rate of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular complications has improved in people with diabetes over the past 20 years.
Read moreDiabetes-Related Foot Ulcer Incidence Rose From Early 1990s Through 2013
Incident diabetes-related foot ulcer (DFU) hospitalizations related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) increased from the early 1990s to the late 2010s, especially in younger patients and those with peripheral sensory neuropathy (PSN), according to the results of a study published in Diabetes Care.
Read moreType 1 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
At the virtual 56th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, researchers stated the statistical fact that Australian adults who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes most commonly die seven years earlier than patients without diabetes.
Read moreDiabetic foot 'now more common in younger patients'
A comparison of data on diabetic foot ulcers suggests more younger people have been developing the condition in recent decades.
Read moreLifetime achievement award for diabetes trailblazer
He’s a general physician, endocrinologist and tropical medicine specialist and Professor of Medicine at The University of Western Australia but it is his 40-plus years of research into diabetes that has seen Professor Tim Davis presented with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the Australian Diabetes Society.
Read morePulmonary hypertension found in 1 in 8 people with type 2 diabetes
Clinically significant pulmonary hypertension (PH) is relatively common in type 2 diabetes according to a WA study – strengthening the case for consideration of PH in the routine assessment of people with type 2 diabetes.
Read more