The use of sensational language in news articles about diabetes treatments

Diabetes affects approximately 463 million adults worldwide with an estimated global cost of USD 760 billion dollars in 2019; of which, a significant portion of this cost is attributable to medications.(1) Diabetes treatments are advancing rapidly; for example, progress in insulin pump therapy, islet cell transplantation, and implantable drug delivery systems have the potential to alter the therapeutic landscape for people with diabetes. Because news outlets often publish stories about diabetes treatments - and since these stories may play a significant role in educating healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes - the accuracy and truthfulness of the information presented is critical and the use of proper language, necessary. Miscommunication of information about diabetes by news media may affect general perceptions and attitudes. Recent studies(2-5) have found that superlatives - exaggerated, hyperbolic language intended to capture reader interest -- have been used to describe "breakthrough" or "miracle" therapies, despite the lack of clinical data to support such claims. Given the prevalence of diabetes, high costs of therapies, and ongoing need for accurate communication about diabetes and diabetes therapies, the aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of superlative terms in news articles about diabetes treatments. We also explored whether superlative frequencies corresponded with phase of drug development and whether the news article website was certified by Health on the Net Code of Conduct (HONcode).(6).