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Diabetics
Have a Much
Higher Risk of Death
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Diabetics--regardless of their age or
income--are at much greater risk of dying during a given time
period compared with those without the condition, UK researchers
said on Thursday.
The mortality
risk was greatest for those with type 1 diabetes, and even the
most affluent diabetic patients had a greater risk of death than
their poorer, non-diabetic neighbors, according to a study of
diabetics living in northern England. The report is published
in the June 9th issue of the British Medical Journal.
Overall, nearly
one quarter of those with diabetes died during the 6-year study,
a death rate more than twice the national average. A man or woman
diagnosed with diabetes by the age of 40 had their life expectancy
reduced by 8 years.
``The majority
of the mortality was the result of vascular disease, for which
proven, effective interventions exist,'' Dr. Nick A. Roper of
Middlesbrough General Hospital in Middlesbrough, UK, told Reuters
Health.
``The major
message therefore is to increase the take up rates for interventions:
smoking cessation, exercise, healthy diet, aspirin treatment,
blood pressure treatment, cholesterol treatment and good blood
glucose control.''
Type 1 diabetes,
which usually is diagnosed in children or young adults, requires
daily injections of the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin
for survival. Type 2 diabetes, which is more often diagnosed in
adulthood, can sometimes be controlled with diet and exercise,
although some people require oral medication or insulin shots
to control blood sugar. In general, diabetes increases the risk
of circulatory problems, blindness and heart disease.
In the study,
the researchers looked at nearly 5,000 diabetics living in South
Tees, in northern England, and followed them for 6 years, tracking
their mortality rates. The investigators then compared those death
rates to those among their non-diabetic neighbors and the rest
of England and Wales.
The risk of
death among the most affluent fifth of the diabetics was slightly
higher than the death rate of those without diabetes. However,
the death rate continued to rise significantly as the level of
poverty increased. The poorest group of diabetic patients had
more than twice the death rate of non-diabetics.
``The extent
of the reduction in life expectancy was significant,'' Roper said.
The main cause
of death among the diabetics was heart disease, leading the researchers
to suggest that patients with those risk factors should be treated
more aggressively.
In an accompanying
editorial, Gareth Williams, a professor of medicine at the University
Hospital Aintree in Liverpool, noted that the rise in type 2,
or adult-onset, diabetes can be mainly attributed to obesity.
Sadly, he writes, counteracting the growing ``obesity pandemic''
will be resisted by ``the manufacturers of cars, televisions,
computer games, fizzy drinks and fast foods.''
SOURCE:
British Medical Journal 2001;322:1389-1393, 1375-1376.
Reference
Source 89
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