Diabetes emergency for NHS
Diabetes emergency for NHS
New figures from the British Heart Foundation claim hundreds of thousands more people may have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes
The alarming diabetes emergency facing the NHS is highlighted by figures showing it has soared by 65% to almost 3.5million sufferers in 10 years. And the number with Type 2 – linked to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity – could be 3.1 million, according to an analysis of GP data for the British Heart Foundation .
Hundreds of thousands more are feared to have undiagnosed Type 2. Experts said the rise in sufferers is “alarming”, and shows diabetes is now “one of the biggest health challenges of our time”. The BHF is highlighting the issue on World Diabetes Day because the disease doubles heart attack risks. Patient data for 2014-15 shows 3,453,054 people are now diagnosed with diabetes. It was two million in 2004-05. There is no breakdown for Type 1 and Type 2, but 90% of diabetes cases are Type 2. Prof Peter Weissberg, medical director of the BHF, said: “Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
“Up to four million UK adults have diabetes so treatments are urgently needed to help prevent them suffering a deadly or disabling heart attack or stroke.” The charity is announcing more than £3million in funding for research to see how blood vessels function and develop therapies to cut the chance of people with diabetes dying early from heart disease.
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “The number of people with diabetes is rising at an alarming rate and every year there are more than 20,000 people who die tragically young as a result. “Diabetes remains one of the biggest health challenges of our time. We must protect the health of the nation by taking urgent steps to get to grips with it.
“It is vital there is more research into better treatment and, ultimately, into finding a cure. “It is also important that the NHS do more to tackle the postcode lottery of care that exists and that everyone with diabetes gets the education they need to successfully manage their condition.”
Type 2 occurs when the body cannot properly use insulin, a hormone regulating blood sugar. Factors including commuting time and where people live play a role in the risk. A healthy lifestyle and weight cuts the chances of Type 2 diabetes. But patients also receive pill and injected treatments. New substances derived from cannabis are now being used to tackle kidney failure caused by diabetes.
Source: DailyMirror
Image: Getty Images
