"less time managing their condition", is such an incredibly low bar.
Edit: I'd like to see this contrasted with dietary changes and other lifestyle changes. Also, the words "artificial" and "pancreas" do not appear in the study.
Edit: I'd like to see this contrasted with dietary changes and other lifestyle changes. Also, the words "artificial" and "pancreas" do not appear in the study.
That's huge. Diabetes is a disease that involves damage over time. Sugar (glucose specifically) is an extraordinarily damaging substance when it is present in high concentrations. If you can keep your blood sugar level within the goal range for longer, that means that you've reduced the time window in which significant damage is being done to various organs around the body. This in turn reduces the chance of developing complications of diabetes like kidney disease, retinal disease, neuropathies, and vascular disease of the heart and brain.
It's subject to a lot of variables, not all of which are known. Both too high and too low are problems, and the solutions are not instant. It's easy to veer from too high to too low and back by overcorrecting.
So yeah, half as much time is a very big deal. This is not a one pill a day proposition. It's like having to be conscious of your pulse or breathing.