Advice on Health

About 20 percent of Americans have prediabetes and are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Major risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being overweight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are at increased risk, as are women who’ve had gestational diabetes or have had a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.

Left untreated, type 2 diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage or nerve damage that can lead to amputations.

According to a recent study conducted by University of California, the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened sports drinks, fruit drinks and sodas has led to an increase in the number of diabetes and heart disease cases over the last 10 years.

Researchers have deduced that the Chinese are increasing their risk for developing type 2 diabetes because they are frequent “nappers.” The study attempted to take out the obvious flip side of things, such as, maybe people that are at risk for diabetes are more tired, or people who live unhealthy lifestyles that encourage the development of diabetes take more naps. Still, the researchers claim the older Chinese sample of participants revealed their napping habit lead to an impaired fasting glucose.

A medical panel has concluded that gestational diabetes has been severely under diagnosed and is proposing new guidelines that could triple the cases.

A seven year study has shown that even low increases in blood sugar, when pregnant, can increase the odds of having unhealthy babies. Many of these low risk women are having overweight babies which later in life have an increased risk of developing diabetes and becoming obese.. Besides the risk to the babies later in life, these oversized babies are a risk to the diabetic mother during delivery.

According to a new report, eight in ten men and almost seven in ten women will be either overweight or obese by the year 2020. The figure could indicate a mounting type 2 diabetes crisis, as well as massively increased levels of heart disease and stroke.

The study is part of the Government commissioned Foresight report, and indicates that far from easing, the obesity crisis is getting worse. The healthcare cost implications are phenomenal, with diabetes already accounting for a huge volume of healthcare spend.

Groundbreaking new research by Cambridge scientists has provided innovative new treatments for those suffering from Type 1 diabetes.

The study, funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, has brought scientists closer to the development of a commercially viable ‘artificial pancreas’ system.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugar levels. Living with this condition requires regular insulin injections and finger print tests. However, these treatments carry medical risks of their own.

A study published in the journal Diabetes Care has found abnormalities in the muscle cells and may benefit adults ages 18 to 25 years with diabetes.

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain, said they found abnormalities in the mitochondria of cells that may explain severe insulin resistance and a reduced response to aerobic exercise in young, obese patients with Type 2 diabetes.

A diabetes test that measures a person’s average blood glucose control over the preceding two to three months is being recommended as the new diagnostic tool for the condition.

A committee of international experts recommended the test, called the the A1C assay, at the American Diabetes Association’s 69th Scientific Sessions over the weekend. The report could instigate a change in the way diabetes is diagnosed, the American Diabetes Association said.

The A1C assay, which has been used for nearly 30 years to determine how well a patient controls diabetes, is a more stable, reliable diagnostic tool than the techniques currently in use, the authors of the report said.

By nearly every measure, it has been a successful weekend for a new wave of proposed drugs that doctors are hailing as the most promising medicines for the millions of patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes.

Studies released at this weekend’s American Diabetes Association conference show proposed drugs from Novo Nordisk (NVO), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN), Alkermes Inc. (ALKS), and GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) are better at helping Type 2 diabetes patients control their blood sugar and lose weight than most medicines currently on the market.