Alarm at diabetes patients ignorance of risks

Friday April 5th, 2019

Many patients diagnosed with diabetes do not realise there is a strong link to coronary heart disease, campaigners warn today.

They are even less knowledgeable about links to stroke and vascular dementia, according to research by the British Heart Foundation.

Pollsters YouGov surveyed some 2,000 adults in the UK and found 178 with diabetes. Just 17% of those with diabetes knew about the link to dementia.

The charity says the findings highlight a lack of knowledge among patients – potentially holding them back from managing the condition properly.

Its medical director Professor Sir Nilesh Samani said: “There’s no doubt that people vastly underestimate the danger of diabetes, and this could be costing lives. The condition significantly increases the risk of dying from heart disease and stroke, and research has shown that it can also contribute to the development of dementia.

“Better public awareness of the risks will encourage people to get tested, take their treatments, and could ultimately save lives.

“Just as public understanding needs to improve, there is also much work to be done to advance research in this area. We are currently funding vital research towards finding ways to prevent people with diabetes from developing heart and circulatory diseases.”

Tags: Diabetes | Heart Health | UK News

Printer friendly page