Diabetics help each other treat disease (3)

Yuan Shiliang, 74, was diagnosed with diabetes 24 years ago. He said he understands the importance of peer support.

"There are patients who don't follow the doctor's advice because they don't trust them, but they trust other diabetics," he said. "I suggest medical institutions provide different courses for patients with different symptoms and knowledge, so that they can go on to spread specialized and correct knowledge on managing the disorder."

The project is also expected to advocate prevention, according to Qian Rongli, a doctor at Peking University No 1 Hospital.

"Not only has the number of Chinese people with diabetes increased at a rapid pace in the past two decades, but also the age of this population is getting younger," the professor said.

"The only way to lower the rate is to prevent it from happening.

"I hope diabetics pay attention to not only their own treatment, but also remind their children to prevent the disease," he added.