Up to 24,000 people with diabetes are dying unnecessarily every year, according to a new report.Most deaths could be avoided if they received better NHS care and if their condition was better managed, it said.

The report into death rates, from the National Diabetes Audit for England, found that women with diabetes are nine times more likely to die young than those without the condition.

Among women aged 15 to 34 with diabetes, death rates are up to nine times higher than the average for this age group.

And the report also found that two young people of both sexes aged 15 to 34 may be suffering an avoidable death every week.

An estimated 70,000 to 75,000 people with diabetes die in England every year – accounting for about 15% of all deaths.

Most deaths are related to the actual condition – diabetes can cause serious heart and kidney problems, as well as amputation of limbs and loss of eyesight.

The report said people are dying too early due to poor management of their condition.

This includes not receiving basic diabetic health checks on the NHS, having unhealthy lifestyles and not taking medication properly or understanding how to take it.

It argues that educating people in managing their condition reduces the risk that they will suffer dangerously high or low blood sugar, which increases the risk of complications but can also lead directly to death.

The gap in death rates between people with diabetes and those without become more extreme in younger age groups.

About one in 3,300 of all women will die between the ages of 15 and 34, but this risk increases nine-fold among women with Type 1 diabetes to one in 360.

Type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood and patients need to take insulin injections.

Among women with Type 2 diabetes – linked to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity – the risk increases six fold to one in 520.

Men aged 15 to 34 in the general population have a risk of dying of one in 1,530, but this risk increases four-fold for those with Type 1 diabetes to one in 360, and by just under four-fold among those with Type 2 to one in 430.

Earlier this year the National Diabetes Audit found almost 450,000 children and younger adults (aged up to 54) with diabetes have high-risk blood sugar levels that could lead to severe complications.

The audit is managed by the NHS Information Centre and commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP).

The report also found a strong link between deprivation and increased mortality rates.

Among under-65s with diabetes, those from deprived backgrounds are twice as likely to die as those from more affluent areas.

Diabetes UK has compiled a list of 15 essential health checks and services and there are nine checks recommended on the NHS by the National Institute for Curbing Excpenditure (Nice).

These nine checks include blood sugar control, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and eye and foot examinations to check for diabetic complications.

The National Diabetes Audit has found that only around half of people (53%) with Type 2 diabetes and less than a third (32%) with Type 1 diabetes receive all nine checks.

Some 290,000 people in the UK have Type 1 diabetes and another 2.6 million are diagnosed with Type 2.

It is also estimated there are 850,000 other people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes.

Penny pinching NHS managers have introduced new viagra prescription guidelines which could limit thousands of couples to having sex once a fortnight.New policy documents advise GPs in parts of the country that patients in need of Viagra or similar drugs should be limited to two pills per month, down from the normal prescription of four.

Although the policy was described as a “recommendation” by NHS authorities, local medical committees told the GPs’ magazine Pulse in GPs slam secrecy over evidence for Viagra rationing restrictions it was being handed down to family doctors as an “edict”.

Erectile dysfunction medication is already stringently limited on the NHS and can only be prescribed to patients with certain conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and prostate cancer.

According to the NHS some 2.2 million prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs were issued last year, with 14.5 million tablets issued at a cost of about £78 million.

NHS guidance acknowledges that there “appears to be no clinical reason to restrict the number of tablets” but it adds that, according to research, the average person has sex four times a month.  The average frequency of sexual intercourse in the 40 to 60 age range is once a week.”

The new policy is aimed at economising on non-essential treatments, recommending that the minimum effective dose be prescribed “two times per month using the drug with the lowest acquisition cost.”

The guidance applies to sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) and tadalafil (Cialis).

Richard Hoey, editor of Pulse, said: “Ask most doctors and they will say that being able to live a satisfactory sex life is a key part of health and wellbeing, but the NHS has never recognised that in its policy on treatment for erectile dysfunction.

“Limiting patients to drugs like Viagra just twice a month is to treat sex like an unnecessary luxury, and completely fails to recognise the degree of anguish it can cause some men with erectile dysfunction.”

Erectile dysfunction is very common in middle aged and older men, with an estimated 50 per cent of those between 40 and 70 experiencing the condition to some degree.

Viagra and other medications can be bought privately, but the cost of about £40 for eight pills can be prohibitive, and patients must also pay for a private prescription.

The new prescription guidelines were drawn up by South Central Priorities Committees, which covers primary care trusts (PCTs) in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Berkshire East, Berkshire West and Buckinghamshire.

Almost half of cancers are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle that could be avoided by quitting smoking, losing weight, exercising and drinking less alcohol, the most comprehensive study of its kind has found.Around 134,000 cancers each year are the result of a poor lifestyle, Cancer Research UK has found.

In the most wide reaching study yet conducted into the issue, it was found that 14 different lifestyle factors ranging from smoking, to lack of exercise, eating too much salt, not having babies, drinking too much and being overweight contributed to four in every ten cancers diagnosed in the UK.

The findings expose the myth that developing cancer is ‘bad luck’ or down to your genes, the researchers said.

Previous studies had suggested around 80,000 cancers a year could be prevented but they did not take into account occupational exposures to things like asbestos, infections that can cause cancer and sunburn as the latest research has.

In a complex set of research studies, scientists calculated how many cancers and of what type could be attributed to each of the 14 lifestyle factors.

The findings of the research The Fraction of Cancer Attributable to Lifestyle and Environmental Factors in the UK were published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Smoking was the biggest factor, causing nearly one in five of all cancers.

But Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said most people would not know that a quarter of all breast cancer cases could be prevented along with half of colorectal cancers.

He added: “Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn’t guarantee that someone will not get cancer but doing so will significantly stack the odds in your favour.”

Dr Kumar said tackling unhealthy lifestyle factors linked to cancer would also reduce the risk of a host of other killer diseases such as heart disease, respiratory problems, kidney disease and others.

The study found that alcohol was responsible for 6.4 per cent of breast cancers and almost one in ten liver cancers.

Three quarters of stomach cancers could be avoided, mostly by not smoking, eating too much salt and consuming more fruit and vegetables.

Red meat consumption led to 2.7 per cent of cancers, almost 8,500 cases. Obesity was linked to more than five per cent of cancers or almost 18000 cases, including a third of womb cancers.

Lack of breastfeeding was linked to 3.1 per cent of breast cancers and 17 per cent of ovarian cancers.

The study did not examine how many cancer deaths would be prevented with a healthier lifestyle.

Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said: “We know, especially during the Christmas party season, that it is hard to watch what you eat and limit alcohol and we don’t want people to feel guilty about having a drink or indulging a bit more than usual. But it’s very important for people to understand that long term changes to their lifestyles can really reduce their cancer risk.”

The World Cancer Research Fund did a similar exercise in 2007 coming up with recommendations to individuals on how to reduce their cancer risk by eating less red meat, taking more exercise and staying slim.

Dr Rachel Thompson, Deputy Head of Science for World Cancer Research Fund, said: “This adds to the now overwhelmingly strong evidence that our cancer risk is affected by our lifestyles.

“We hope this new study helps to raise awareness of the fact that cancer is not simply a question of fate and that people can make changes today that can reduce their risk of developing cancer in the future.”

Professor Stephen Bloom, from Imperial College London who is described as an “outstanding clinical academic” and pioneer in the field of obesity and diabetes research has received a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list.Prof Bloom is currently leading a research group investigating appetite control systems and gut hormones.

Their discovery that oxyntomodulin reduces appetite offers a potential new treatment for obesity.

Prof Bloom said he was delighted by his knighthood.

“This is a testament to the efforts of a great many colleagues with whom I have worked over the years. This is a unique period in the history of scientific research when we are at last able to work out the details of how the body functions and therefore contribute to the prevention of disease. I am proud that the units are helping patients. I get letters from them all the time.”

Professor Sir Keith O’Nions, rector of Imperial College London, said Prof Bloom’s research was “pioneering” and had changed the approach to treating obesity, for the benefit of everyone in society.

A large variety of vocations are also honoured in health and medicine.

They include MBEs for six GPs, five nurses, a physiotherapist, two pharmacists, a dentist and a volunteer ambulance driver.

John Wallwork, professor of cardiothoracic surgery and director of transplantation at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, is the recipient of a CBE.

Julie Moore, chief executive of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust becomes a Dame. Her personal involvement in the development and staffing of the military managed ward concept at Selly Oak Hospital has been recognised.

Christine Mills, founder of Hope for Tomorrow charity, receives an MBE for launching the first UK mobile chemotherapy unit.

She founded the charity after her husband died from cancer of the spine and wanted to alleviate the suffering of people travelling long distances to and from hospital to receive chemotherapy treatment.

She raised enough money to build the world’s first mobile chemotherapy unit, which can treat 12 to 20 cancer patients a day on the road, complete with two dedicated nurses.

Children with low vitamin D levels are more likely to be at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a study suggesting a deficiency could help trigger the disease.Researchers found those with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to be obese and have higher degrees of insulin resistance, when the hormone becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar.

Dr Micah Olson, lead author of the study Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews , published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, said: “Although our study cannot prove causation, it does suggest that low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of Type 2 diabetes.”

He added: “Future studies are needed to determine the clinical significance of lower vitamin D levels in obese children, the amount and duration of treatment necessary to replenish vitamin D levels in these children and whether treatment with vitamin D can improve primary clinical endpoints such as insulin resistance.”

The skin helps manufacture vitamin D, but only when exposed to strong sunlight. In the winter and early spring the body’s reserves can drop to low levels, particularly if a person has had insufficient exposure in the summer months.

Vitamin D can also be derived from certain foods, such as oily fish, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals.

Therefore, lack of vitamin D could simply be a sign of a generally unhealthy lifestyle: not getting out for enough exercise in the fresh air, and not eating a good diet.

Children who sit in front of the television for most of the day, snacking on fatty foods, are therefore likely to have lower vitamin D levels and be overweight as well. The two factors might not be biologically related.

Nonetheless, Dr Iain Frame, director of the charity Diabetes UK, said the study “adds to growing evidence of a link between low levels of vitamin D and an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.”

He went on: “However, as the authors note, the exact causes of vitamin D deficiency and its role in the development of Type 2 diabetes are still unclear.

“Diabetes UK is currently funding research at the University of Glasgow to help establish if people with Type 2 diabetes might benefit from vitamin D supplementation.

“Until we know more, it is not possible to recommend vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and people should not see this as an easy fix.

“Maintaining a healthy weight by keeping to a healthy diet and undertaking regular physical activity is still the best way to reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.”

Living an unhealthy lifestyle could make you look older because high blood sugar causes the face to age more quickly, new research has found.People whose blood sugar levels are higher than average look older than those with low levels, experts said.

Blood sugar, which can rise as a result of an unhealthy diet or lack of exercise, was already known to cause ill health but the study is believed to be the first to link high levels to appearance.

Researchers found that every additional millimole per litre increase in blood sugar, which in healthy people is usually between five and six mmol/l, adds five months of ageing to their facial features.

They measured the blood sugar of 602 people, while a group of 60 independent assessors studied two photographs of their faces to come up with a “perceived age” score.

Healthy people with low blood sugar typically looked a year younger than those with high readings, and a year-and-a-half younger than diabetics, the study published in the Age journal found.

The ageing could be caused by a build-up of sugar which sticks to collagen – a protein in the skin which keeps it supple – and is difficult for the body to remove.

Alternatively, the glucose could hamper insulin production which is believed to play a central role in ageing, researchers said.

David Gunn, who led the Unilever study, said: “The higher glucose people had, they started looking older. Diabetics looked older again, and they have had the worst exposure to high glucose levels.

“This adds extra evidence that there is another reason to have a healthy lifestyle – because it is going to affect your appearance as well as your health.”

Diana van Heemst, of Leiden University in the Netherlands, who contributed to the paper, said: “The results from this study further underscore how important regulation of blood glucose levels is for wellbeing and health in advanced middle age.

“The associated benefit of looking younger might provide an extra motivation to bring about healthy lifestyle changes in 50-to-70 year olds.”

From:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/High-blood-sugar-speeds-up-ageing

A new drug which destroys blood supply to fatty tissue could help people lose a tenth of their body weight in just one month, a study indicates.Obese rhesus monkeys lost on average 11 per cent of their body weight after four weeks of the experimental treatment.

Body mass index (BMI) and waistline also were reduced, while all three measures were unchanged in untreated control monkeys.

Imaging studies also showed a substantial decrease in body fat among treated animals.

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre carried out the study.

Co-senior author Professor Renata Pasqualini, at the David H. Koch Centre for Applied Research of Genitourinary Cancers, said: “Development of this compound for human use would provide a non-surgical way to actually reduce accumulated white fat, in contrast to current weight-loss drugs that attempt to control appetite or prevent absorption of dietary fat.”

She said previous attempts to treat obesity have predominantly focused on drugs aimed at suppressing appetite or increasing metabolism, but these efforts have been hampered by their toxic side-effects.

The MD Anderson group designed a new drug, which includes a homing agent that binds to a protein on the surface of fat-supporting blood vessels and a synthetic peptide that triggers cell death.

Their blood supply gone, fat cells are reabsorbed and metabolised.

Co-senior author Professor Wadih Arap, said: “Obesity is a major risk factor for developing cancer, roughly the equivalent of tobacco use, and both are potentially reversible.”

In earlier preclinical research, obese mice lost about 30 per cent of their body weight with the drug, now called Adipotide.

The drug acts on white adipose tissue, the scientific name for the unhealthy type of fat that accumulates under the skin and around the abdomen, and is a disease and mortality predictor.

Prof Pasqualini said: “Most drugs against obesity fail in transition between rodents and primates.  We’re greatly encouraged to see substantial weight loss in a primate model of obesity that closely matches the human condition.”

The primate model also shares other physiological features associated with human obesity, such as metabolic syndrome, characterised by an increased resistance to insulin, which can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Adipotide-treated monkeys showed marked improvements in insulin resistance – using about 50 per cent less insulin after treatment.

Now the research team are preparing for a clinical trial in which obese prostate cancer patients would receive daily injections of Adipotide for 28 consecutive days.

Prof Arap said: “The question is, will their prostate cancer become better if we can reduce their body weight and the associated health risks?”

He said some prostate cancer treatments, such as hormone therapy, cause weight gain.

Greater weight can lead to arthritis, which in turn causes inactivity that leads to more weight gain.

Fat cells also secrete growth hormones that cancer cells thrive on.

Weight, BMI and abdominal circumference all continued to drop for three weeks after treatment ended before turning back up during the eighth week of the study.

Treated monkeys’ abdominal fat levels fell by 27 per cent during the study. Fat levels increased slightly in the control group.

Lean monkeys did not lose weight in a separate study to test for potential effects of the drug in non-obese animals, indicating that the drug’s effect may be selective for obese subjects.

Monkeys in the studies remained bright and alert throughout, interacting with caretakers and demonstrating no signs of nausea or food avoidance.

This is potentially an important finding since unpleasant side-effects have limited the use of approved drugs that reduce fat absorption in the intestines.

The principal side effects were noted in the kidneys.

Study first author Dr Kirstin Barnhart, a veterinary clinical pathologist said: “The renal effect was dose-dependent, predictable and reversible.”

The results were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Obesity and chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes cost Britain £20 billion a year in terms of lost productivity, analysis by the polling firm Gallup has found.Overweight and obese workers with no chronic problems take twice as many days off as comparable workers of a healthy weight, found the survey of almost 9,000 people.

Those who were overweight or obese and had three or more chronic health problems took 12 times as many sick days as healthy weight individuals with no health problems, or 18 compared to 1.5.

The survey was conducted by Gallup and Healthways, a firm that runs fitness centres.

It also found obesity alone counts for six lost work days per worker each year – or over £1,200 in lost productivity.

Ben Leedle, president and chief executive of Healthways, said it showed that the level of chronic disease in the UK workforce was at “alarming levels”.

He said: “Employers who recognize the importance of improving well-being at the workplace are most likely to gain a competitive advantage.”

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Obesity-and-chronic-disease-cost-UK-PLC-20bn-a-year

A massive recruitment drive is under way to match up thousands of diabetic patients with diabetes research projects aimed at finding a cure for the disease.The scheme is being likened to a kind of “dating agency” that puts researchers and patients in contact.

Researchers say about 30% of cancer patients may be taking part in clinical trials, but for diabetes that figure is less than 1%.

About 2.8 million people in the UK are known to have diabetes.

But the charity Diabetes UK believes another 800,000 people may not know they already have the disease.

Part of the reason researchers have found it hard to find diabetes patients is that most only see their GP.

But three regions in England have been chosen to pilot a scheme which aims to offer 25,000 patients, with any form of diabetes, the chance to take part in clinical trials or other forms of research.

A recruitment drive is taking place in north east London, the south west and the north west of England.

Prof Martin Gibson, from the Diabetes Research Network at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, says clinical trials are essential in order to find better treatments for diabetes – or even a cure.

“Pretty much everyone I talk to with diabetes is interested in research but they don’t get the opportunity.  It’s not like cancer where people are increasingly offered the chance to take part in research projects.”

“Part of the problem is that people with diabetes are very often out in the community, which is not where the researchers are.  So what we’re trying to create is a dating agency so we can bring the two groups together, because both are very interested in trying to find a cure for diabetes.”

Diabetes UK estimates that about 10% of the total NHS budget across the UK is spent on illnesses related to the disease.

The charity calculates this works out at about £173m a week – or £1m an hour.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “This is a huge opportunity for people with diabetes to play their part in crucial research that is piecing together the gaps in our knowledge and in our understanding of the condition.

“This exciting campaign will help future generations of people diagnosed with this serious, life-long condition and help us take a step further to a future without diabetes.”

If you would like to be involved in the diabetes research project please click here now.

Researchers say they have discovered why men may be more likely than women to develop type 2 diabetes – they are biologically more susceptible.Men need to gain far less weight than women to develop the condition, study findings suggest.

The Glasgow University team found men developed the disease at a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than women.

They believe distribution of the body fat is important – men tend to store it in their liver and around the waist.

Women, meanwhile, have greater amounts of ‘safe’ subcutaneous fat stored on the thighs and hips, for example.

This means women need to accumulate more fat overall than men to develop the harmful fat deposits linked with diabetes, the researchers explain in the journal Diabetologia.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by too much sugar in the blood which occurs when the body’s ability to regulate sugar levels in several different organs becomes disturbed. The condition is linked to excess fat in some of these organs such as the liver and muscles.

Professor Naveed Sattar, of the Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, who led the research, said: “Previous research has indicated that middle-aged men are at a higher risk of developing diabetes than women and one possible explanation is that men have to gain less weight than women to develop the condition.

“In other words, men appear to be at higher risk for diabetes.”

For the study, the researchers analysed data from 51,920 men and 43,137 women in Scotland with diabetes, taking into consideration body weight and obesity using the BMI measurement based on height and weight.

The results showed women developed diabetes at a heavier BMI than men – the mean BMI at diabetes diagnosis in men was 31.83 but 33.69 in women.

The researchers say this helps explain why men have higher rates of diabetes in many parts of the world.

Dr Victoria King, Head of Research at Diabetes UK, said: “It is worrying that men develop type 2 diabetes at a higher rate than their female counterparts. Research like this will help us understand reasons why and provide greater insight into what we can do to improve prevention of type 2 diabetes.

“Diabetes UK is calling on both men and women to reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by losing any excess weight, eating a healthy, balanced diet and by taking regular physical activity.”

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15147999