Serious complications in people with type 1 diabetes and ongoing poor blood sugar control
Strategies implemented in high-income countries to improve blood glucose control in people with type 1 diabetes and so reduce complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, and early death, are working, but there is much need for further improvement, according to a study from Scotland published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
Using information from national databases representing over 20 000 patients from 2005 to 2008, Scottish researchers led by Helen Colhoun from the University of Dundee, found that people with type 1 diabetes have 2 to 3 times the risk of heart attacks, strokes, or premature death than the general population and that this increased risk is higher in women than in men. The authors found that in those with type 1 diabetes, the risk (chance) of having a cardiovascular event (heart attack or stroke) for the first time was 2.5 higher in men and 3.2 higher in women, than in the general Scottish population. Furthermore, in those with type 1 diabetes, death ratesfrom any cause were 2.6 higher in men and 2.7 higher in women than in the general Scottish population.
The authors also found a high number of deaths from coma in younger people with diabetes (caused by either an extremely high or an extremely low blood sugar level) and two to three extra deaths per 100 people a year inthose aged 60 to 69 years with type 1 diabetes.
Worryingly, the authors also found that the majority of patients in this Scottish dataset had poorly controlled blood glucose levels, with only 13% having HbA1c levels (a test that measures the blood sugar control over the previous 3 months) in the target range. People with type 1 diabetes also had similar levels of smoking and of being overweight—risk factors of cardiovascular disease—as the general population.
The importance of tight blood sugar control for minimizing complications from diabetes has been understood for almost two decades. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand why so few people with type 1 diabetes in settings such as that studied here have good control of their blood sugar, and what can be done to improve this situation.
The authors say: "Although the relative risks for cardiovascular disease and total mortality associated with type 1 diabetes in this population have declined relative to earlier studies, type 1 diabetes continues to be associated with higher cardiovascular disease and death rates than the non-diabetic population."
They continue: "A striking feature of the data is the very low rate of achievement of glycaemic control targets."
The authors add: "Risk factor management should be improved to further reduce risk but better treatment approaches for achieving good glycaemic control are badly needed."
More information: Livingstone SJ, Looker HC, Hothersall EJ, Wild SH, Lindsay RS, et al. (2012) Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Total Mortality in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: Scottish Registry Linkage Study. PLoS Med 9(10): e1001321. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001321
Journal reference:
PLoS Medicine
Provided by
Public Library of Science
-
Blood sugar diabetes risk for South Asians
Jul 24, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New study examines risks and benefits of the first line treatment for diabetes
Apr 10, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Diabetes associated with higher risk of cardiovascular problems in men
Mar 25, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Elderly diabetes patients with very low glucose levels have slightly increased risk of death
Apr 18, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Wealth linked to diabetes death risk in new study
May 27, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Indeterminism in Classical Physics
41 minutes ago
-
Current in two wires
1 hour ago
-
understanding the dipole model for Rayleigh scattering
3 hours ago
-
question on coriolis effect with drag force
9 hours ago
-
Question of reflection and transmission of TEM wave in normal incidenc
14 hours ago
-
the rudyak-krasnolutski effective potencial
15 hours ago
- More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics
More news stories
Type 2 diabetes progresses faster in kids, study finds
(HealthDay)—Type 2 diabetes is more aggressive in children than adults, with signs of serious complications seen just a few years after diagnosis, new research finds.
Diabetes
11 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Statin use is linked to increased risk of developing diabetes, warn researchers
Treatment with high potency statins (especially atorvastatin and simvastatin) may increase the risk of developing diabetes, suggests a paper published today in BMJ.
Diabetes
13 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Diabetes' genetic underpinnings can vary based on ethnic background, studies say
Ethnic background plays a surprisingly large role in how diabetes develops on a cellular level, according to two new studies led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Diabetes
15 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Fish oil supplements may help fight against Type 2 diabetes
Widely-used fish oil supplements modestly increase amounts of a hormone that is associated with lower risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of ...
Diabetes
May 22, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
Study shows that women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes in their da
Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes, in their daughters, concludes research published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabet ...
Diabetes
May 20, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Patenting the human genome
Can human genes be patented? That was the question posed by Alan J. Snyder, vice president and associate provost for research and graduate studies at Lehigh, and Lee Kaplan, scientific director of cellular and molecular genetics ...
How the EU could help more children survive cancer
A leading expert in childhood cancer at The University of Nottingham is spearheading a Europe-wide lobby of the European Parliament to try to make it easier for doctors to develop and test new treatments on children and young ...
Controlling mood through the motions of mitochondria
(Medical Xpress)—Regulating the distribution of power in neurons is done by a system that makes the national electric grid look simple by comparison. Each neuron has several thousand mitochondria confined ...
Obesity weighs down on top soda guzzler Mexico
Artemio Martinez balanced his corpulent frame on a stool in a Mexico City street taco stand, downing a sweet soda and eating a final pork-filled corn tortilla.
Study: No higher cancer rate at Conn. Pratt plant
(AP)—Researchers examining the incidence of brain cancer at jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut say they have found no statistically significant elevations in the rate of cancer among workers.
WHO voices deep concern over spread of SARS-like virus
The World Health Organization voiced deep concern Thursday over the SARS-like virus that has killed 22 people in less than a year, saying it might potentially spread more widely between humans.