The Ulaanbaatar agreement: Revising diabetes terminology in Asia to combat stigma

Abstract

Many Asian countries, including Japan, China, and South Korea, continue to use terms that reference sugar and urine, contributing to ongoing stigma, while most of the rest of the world seem to use terms related to the original "Diabetes," meaning "to pass through." The 16th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) was held, featuring a pivotal joint symposium organized by AASD and the Japanese Association of Diabetes Education and Care where an in-depth discussion was carried out on diabetes-related terminology across various Asian countries and regions, with a particular focus on the stigma associated with existing terms. The symposium participants reached a consensus on the necessity of revising the stigmatizing diabetes terminology across Asia and agreed to continue discussions and monitor progress at the 17th AASD Scientific Meeting, scheduled to be held in 2025.

Figure 1

Terminology for “diabetes” across various countries/regions. In many Asian countries/regions, red‐highlighted terms that reference both sugar and urine are prevalent, perpetuating longstanding stigma. For example, Japan uses “糖尿病” (tō‐nyō‐byō), China uses “糖尿病” (tang‐niào‐bìng), South Korea uses “당뇨병” (tang‐nyo‐ppyŏng), and Mongolia uses “ЧИХРИЙН ШИЖИН” (chikhriin shijin). In contrast, most of the rest of the world uses blue‐highlighted terms that are derived from the original “Diabetes,” meaning “to pass through.” For instance, the United Kingdom and the United States use “Diabetes” (dàiəbíːtiːz), Germany uses “Diabetes” (diabétes), France uses “Diabète” (djabεt), and Russia uses “Диабет” (diabet).