Men more likely to have undiagnosed diabetes
Men over 50 twice as likely to have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes
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Monday, 02, Nov 2009 12:30
By Richard James.
Men over 50 are twice as likely to have undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes compared to their female counterparts, new research has claimed.
A study of 6,739 52- to 79-year-olds, published in the journal Diabetic Medicine, found 502 to have diabetes.
Of the men with diabetes 22 per cent said they did not realise they had the condition before the study, compared to 12 per cent of the women.
The study also found the risk of having undiagnosed diabetes was greater for those with high Body Mass Index (BMI), a large waist, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Commenting on the findings, Simon O'Neill, from Diabetes UK, said: "Diabetes is extremely serious and the longer it is left undiagnosed and untreated, the greater the risk of developing devastating complications such as blindness, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and heart disease.
"Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for more than ten years which means that around half of people already have complications by the time they are diagnosed.
"Men are generally worse at looking after their health than women. We already know that middle-aged men are twice as likely to have diabetes than women and that, consistently, more men are overweight than women and so at greater risk of Type 2 diabetes. This research suggests this pattern is the same for men over 50 who don't realise they have diabetes."
He added it was vital for all men to take better care of their health and constantlt be aware of the risk factors and symptoms of diabetes.
Mr O'Neil also warned women not to become complacent either, highlighting the fact that the risk of death from heart disease associated with the Type 2 diabetes is about 50 per cent greater in women than it is in men.
Lead author Mary Pierce, from University College London, added: "The higher numbers of men with undiagnosed diabetes in this study may be explained by the fact that women go to their GP more often and are therefore screened more often.
"There needs to be much greater testing of overweight and obese people as well as those with other risk factors for diabetes."
Health experts claim risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include having a large waist or being overweight; being of black or South Asian origin; having a family history of the condition; and being over 40 years old - or over 25 if you're black or South Asian.