Radiation therapy and diabetes risks

Thu, 13 Aug 2009
According to diabetes news, survivors of childhood cancer who were treated with radiation could face a greater risk of diabetes . A report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that the correlation is not linked with body mass index or physical inactivity.

Researchers at Emory University were reported as commenting: "As a result of their curative therapies, childhood cancer survivors face an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. In the general population, diabetes mellitus is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death."

The authors reportedly concluded: "After adjustment for body mass index, age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income and insurance, the survivors were 1.8 times more likely than the siblings to report diabetes mellitus, with survivors who received total body irradiation, abdominal irradiation and cranial irradiation at increased risk. Survivors who were treated with abdominal irradiation were 2.7 times as likely to report diabetes mellitus as those who were not treated with abdominal irradiation or total body irradiation; those treated with total body irradiation were 7.2 times as likely to report diabetes mellitus."

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