Our understanding of the effects of scuba diving on diabetes mellitus (DM) or the effect of DM on a diver’s ability to dive safely is limited. Most diving authorities worldwide consider insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) to be a contraindication to scuba diving. Divers taking oral hypoglycaemic agents are considered to be at risk of hypoglycaemia in the water, while those controlled using non-hypoglycaemic agents, or diet alone are thought by some authorities to be safe to dive.
Evidence exists that there are divers with DM who dive safely, and have done so for many years, either using insulin or hypoglycemic tablets.
The aim of this survey is to observe, over a period of time, the ordinary diving habits and histories of recreational divers, as opposed to the “monitored” and controlled diving of recreational divers with DM in some studies. It also examines the rates at which divers with DM and divers without DM cease to dive and whether any significant differences exist between them. Preliminary results have been reported elsewhere.
Data are presented from the first 11 years of this survey (1991-2001).
