Higher risk of liver disease in diabetics

Wed, 23 Jun 2010
Adults that have been newly diagnosed with diabetes are at a greater risk of serious liver disease it has been found. A research article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found that there is a higher long-term risk of cirrhosis and liver failure among the newly diagnosed, adding to the medical knowledge regarding the negative impact of diabetes on the kidney, eye and blood vessels.

The study was done over a 13-year period in Toronto, examining nearly half a million adults aged between 30 and 75 with newly diagnosed diabetes and a comparable group of over two million adults without diabetes. It was found there was an incidence rate of 8 per 10,000 person-years for serious liver disease in people with newly diagnosed diabetes, against a rate of 4 per 10,000 person years for the non-diabetic group.

It was also found that people with diabetes and concomitant obesity or hypertension were among those with the highest risk of contracting liver disease.

The research stated "We posit that the presence of overt diabetes reflects more severe insulin resistance, a greater fatty load in the liver and potentially worse hepatic inflammation and injury. Those who have diabetes may not just have higher blood sugars, but greater long-term insulin resistance and fatty load to the liver, which ultimately impacts on the integrity of the liver's cells."

The research team also recommend that it would be better for the effects of weight loss and glycemic and lipid control to be better known before annual screening for liver disease is implemented.

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