Britons at Risk of Diabetes Know
Little of Disease
February 22, 2005
Britons who have a high risk of developing diabetes
know very little about the illness and are vulnerable
to serious complications, health experts said on Wednesday.
Less than a third of patients most likely to suffer
from diabetes know that it can lead to heart disease
and only a quarter are aware it is linked to stroke,
according to a MORI survey.
"This low level of awareness is frightening. Diabetes
is a serious condition and prevalence is increasing
rapidly," said Douglas Smallwood, chief executive
of Diabetes UK.
Ignorance about Type 2 diabetes means that many people
have the illness for up to 10 years before it is diagnosed.
By the time it is picked up, half of patients show signs
of complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness,
kidney damage and nerve disorders that can lead to foot
ulceration and amputations.
Diabetes is a chronic illness caused by a deficiency
or lack of insulin. The hormone produced by the pancreas
helps glucose, or sugar, from food get into cells.
If a person does not produce enough insulin or if it
isn't used properly by the body, glucose stays in the
blood.
People with Type 1 diabetes fail to produce insulin.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of the disease,
is caused by an inability to make enough, or to properly
use insulin.
About 1.8 million people in Britain suffer from diabetes
and experts estimate there are one million more who
do not know they have the disease. About 90 percent
of sufferers have Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to
being overweight or obese.
People who took part in the survey were classified
as high risk if they had two or more risk factors which
also include having a family history of the illness
or a waist size of 35 inches (89 cm) for women and 40
inches (101 cm) for men.
Black and ethnic minorities aged 25 and over and whites
40 years and older who are overweight or have a family
history of diabetes are also high risk groups.
"If the government is to deliver on its public
health promises, it has to commit itself and the National
Health Service (NHS) to educating people," said
Smallwood.
"People need to know the risks and what they can
do about them," he added.
Source:www.reuters.com
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