The Lancet Commission on diabetes: using data to transform diabetes care and patient lives

In this Lancet Commission on diabetes, which embodies 4 years of extensive work on data curation, synthesis, and modelling, we urge policy makers, payers, and planners to collectively change the ecosystem, build capacity, and improve the clinical practice environment. Such actions will enable practitioners to systematically collect data during routine practice and to use these data effectively to diagnose early, stratify risks, define needs, improve care, evaluate solutions, and drive changes at patient, system, and policy levels to prevent and control diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Emerging evidence regarding the possible damaging effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 on pancreatic islets implies the potential worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic and the diabetes epidemic, adding to the urgency of these collective actions.