Our Sources — NICE, NHS, ADA, Diabetes UK and Peer-Reviewed Research

Living Diabetes content is grounded in published clinical guidance and peer-reviewed research. Below is the list of authoritative bodies and resources we rely on. We cite specific guidelines and trials in individual articles; this page explains why we use these particular sources.

Last reviewed: May 2026.

Primary clinical guidelines

NICE — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

The UK’s official body for evidence-based clinical guidance. All Living Diabetes content is reviewed against current NICE recommendations.

NICE NG28 — Type 2 diabetes in adults: management
NICE NG17 — Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management
NICE NG18 — Diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in children and young people
NICE NG3 — Diabetes in pregnancy
NICE NG19 — Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management
NICE NG203 — Chronic kidney disease: assessment and management
NICE PH46 — BMI: preventing ill health and premature death in Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups

ADA — American Diabetes Association

The ADA publishes the annual Standards of Care in Diabetes, the most cited international diabetes guideline. We refer to the 2026 edition (and earlier where specific evidence is unchanged).

Diabetes Care journal — peer-reviewed primary source
ADA Standards of Care 2026

Diabetes UK

The UK’s largest diabetes charity. We use Diabetes UK’s patient-facing position statements and food data tables, and link to the validated Know Your Risk assessment.

NHS

For UK-specific service information — the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, the Healthier You Diabetes Prevention Programme, and patient-facing condition pages.

KDIGO — Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes

The international body whose CKD staging and diabetes-CKD guideline is used worldwide.

KDIGO guidelines

Primary research databases

PubMed — the US National Library of Medicine database for peer-reviewed biomedical research
Cochrane Library — systematic reviews of healthcare evidence
ClinicalTrials.gov — trial registry, particularly for landmark cardiovascular outcome trials in diabetes

Landmark trials we reference frequently

UKPDS (UK Prospective Diabetes Study, 1998) — established the long-term benefits of glycaemic and blood-pressure control in type 2 diabetes
DCCT (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, 1993) — demonstrated tight glycaemic control reduces complications in type 1 diabetes
EMPA-REG OUTCOME (2015) — first SGLT2 inhibitor cardiovascular outcome trial; reshaped diabetes medication choice
LEADER, SUSTAIN-6, REWIND, SELECT — GLP-1 receptor agonist cardiovascular outcome trials
DAPA-HF, EMPEROR-Reduced/Preserved, DAPA-CKD, EMPA-KIDNEY — SGLT2 inhibitor trials in heart failure and CKD
SURPASS, SURMOUNT — tirzepatide trials in type 2 diabetes and obesity
DiRECT (2018) — diet-induced remission of type 2 diabetes
Diabetes Prevention Program (2002) — lifestyle intervention reduces progression to type 2 diabetes by 58%
ADAG (Nathan et al., 2008) — derived the formula linking HbA1c to estimated average glucose
Battelino et al. (2019) — international consensus on time-in-range targets

Pharmacology references

British National Formulary (BNF) — UK prescribing reference
Electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC) — UK product information
DailyMed (US) — US product information

Nutrition references

USDA FoodData Central — primary source for the food values used in our carb counter
Diabetes UK food data — UK-specific nutrition cross-reference

Population and registry data

National Diabetes Audit (UK) — annual UK-wide care quality data
International Diabetes Federation Atlas

How we cite

Within an article we link directly to the most authoritative source for each clinical claim — preferring NICE / ADA guidelines and primary peer-reviewed research over secondary sources. When a guideline cites a landmark trial, we link to both. When evidence is uncertain or contested, we say so explicitly.

Read more about our approach in our editorial process.

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