New diabetes link to Parkinsons disease reported

A new study has revealed that diabetes patients could have a slightly raised chance of developing Parkinsons disease, it has emerged. The research, involving the review of around 289,000 older adults in the US, showed that people suffering from type 2 diabetes at the start of the study were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over the next 15 years.
Although the findings are still preliminary, the study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, found that after taking account of related factors such as age, weight and smoking habits, diabetes was linked to a 41 per cent increase in the risk of getting Parkinson’s in the future.
Of the patients with diabetes, 0.8 per cent were eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s, compared to 0.5 per cent for the adults who didn’t have diabetes at the start of the study. However, exactly why there is a connection between the two conditions has not been show, and these figures are insufficient to prove that diabetes is a cause of Parkinson’s.
The scientists recommend that people with diabetes should carry on managing their condition and maintaining their health, such as consuming a balanced diet and making sure they get regular exercise .