Diabetes: turning the tide
September 4, 2012
AUSTRALIANS living with type 2
diabetes have lower blood glucose
levels and a marked reduction in
rates of bad cholesterol than they
did two decades ago, according to
the results of a 20 year landmark
analysis.
Despite these improvements, the
analysis also found that type 2
diabetes patients are larger than
they were in the 1990s.
“Medical care is improving, but
the implication is that lifestyle
factors continue to let patients
down,” said the Head of the
Fremantle Diabetes Study,
Professor Tim Davis.
“This is the first Australian
research to show that blood sugar
control is improving in patients with
type 2 diabetes.
“Unfortunately our data also
reveals that the average Body Mass
Index for a person with diabetes is
now in the obese category,” he
added.
The analysis compared type 2
diabetes patients treated between
1993-1996 (1,296 patients) those
treated between 2008-2011 (1,509
patients from the same catchment
area), and found that patients in
the latter time frame had lower
average blood glucose (HbA1c of
6.8 vs. 7.2) and fasting serum
glucose (7.2 vs. 8.0 mmol/L) levels;
had lower levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol
(LDL 2.3 vs. 3.3 mmol/L); are living
longer (mean age of 65.4 vs 64.0
years); and are more overweight
(average Body Mass Index of 31.3
[obese] vs. 29.6 [overweight]).
“These changes are highly
significant,” Professor Davis said.
“The benefits of early diagnosis
and more intensive treatment of
both blood glucose and cholesterol
levels is paying dividends.
“Diabetes patients are living
longer and this suggests that they
are suffering fewer heart attacks
and strokes,” Davis added.
MEANWHILE Davis used the
results to call for greater use of
cholesterol-lowering medication by
diabetes patients, noting that one
third of diabetes patients eligible
for Government subsidised statin
therapy remained untreated.
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