Call for more diabetes checks

Tue, 07 Sep 2010
The charity Diabetes UK has called for more tests to check for diabetes, as it warned that thousands of people in the East Midlands are probably unaware they have the metabolic condition. Diabetes UK has asked primary care trusts (PCTs) in the region to increase the priority it gives to screening groups of people that considered to be at risk.

The charity is asking for diabetes tests to be made available in pharmacies as a means of testing for type 2 diabetes or adult-onset diabetes . Type 2 diabetes is more common in adults, and can cause amputation, blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and strokes, and may remain undetected for up to a decade.

Peter Shorrick, regional manager for the Midlands at Diabetes UK, commented "This new estimate of 67,200 undiagnosed Type 2 cases in the East Midlands is truly alarming. PCTs need to better prioritise screening of at risk groups and improve uptake of programmes such as NHS health checks."

The charity also pointed out that about half of people already show some signs of complications by the time they are diagnosed, and that it was important there was more awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of type 2 diabetes, so that people at risk were encouraged to visit their doctor for a simple diabetes test .

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