Bridging Evidence and Practice: A Consensus Statement from the Korean Diabetes Association on Diabetes Screening, Pharmacological Treatment and Severe Diabetes

Abstract

This Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) consensus statement bridges global evidence with the Korean clinical context, where large randomized and real-world data remain limited. Recommendations required ≥80% agreement by the committee of clinical practice guideline and approval by the board of directors. The statement comprises three domains: diabetes screening aligned with Korean epidemiology; pharmacologic management guided by pathophysiology and comorbidities; and a severity construct of “severe diabetes mellitus” that links complication-based staging with metabolic grading to match therapeutic intensity to disease complexity. Compared with prior KDA guidelines, this statement introduces substantive advances in three areas. First, screening recommendations are streamlined to emphasize risk-aligned, practical implementation rather than prescriptive test sequences. Second, pharmacologic management applies an individualized framework for drug selection that jointly considers pathophysiology and comorbidities. It operationalizes individualized selection by dominant pathophysiology (insulin resistance vs. insulin insufficiency) and coexisting conditions, and formalizes treatment dynamics—early combination, timely initiation of injectables, avoidance of overbasalization, and structured deintensification. It also prioritizes agents with proven cardiovascular and renal protection and elevates management of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease as central goals; clinically, insulin should be initiated promptly in hypercatabolic states or suspected islet failure, and technology-enabled care—including continuous glucose monitoring and automated insulin delivery—are integral across all stages. Third, the newly introduced severity construct underpins treatment-intensity decisions across domains without reiterating prescriptive algorithms. Collectively, these recommendations provide a coherent, context-appropriate framework for diabetes screening and management in Korea and identify priorities for future evidence generation.