Link between asthma and higher risk of diabetes reported

Mon, 21 Mar 2011
Research by scientists at the Mayo clinic and Olmsted Medical Center in Minnesota in the United States has found an apparent link between asthma and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as heart disease .

The study, involving data from a total of 2,392 asthma patients with age and gender factors taken into account, revealed that asthma was associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease but not inflammatory bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis . The incidence rate of diabetes for asthmatics was shown to be 138.4 per 100,000 people as compared with 104 per 100,000 people for non-asthmatics.

Study author Young J. Juhn commented "Asthmatics have a more allergy-prone immune environment called T-helper 2 (Th2) immune profile. This Th2 immune profile has a delicate balance with a counter-regulatory one called Th1 immune profile, which underlies proinflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel syndrome."

He added "While it's important for clinicians to be aware of the increased risks of coronary artery disease and diabetes in asthmatics, these findings should be interpreted cautiously given the preliminary nature."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US estimates that asthma affects about 24.6 million people in the country.

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