Older men face double diabetes risk

According to diabetes news this morning, men over the age of 50 face double the likelihood of having diabetes and being unaware of it compared to women of the same age. The reason, researchers say, could simply be down to unwillingness to go to the doctor.
A research team studied 6,700 Britons aged between 52 and 59. Of these, some 502 had type 2 diabetes . 22% of men with the condition did not realise they had it, whilst just 12 per cent of women were in the same situation.
The research is published in the journal Diabetic Medicine, and was conducted by experts from University College London. Study leader Dr. Mary Pierce reportedly commented: ‘The higher numbers of men with undiagnosed diabetes may be explained by the fact that women go to their GP more often and are therefore screened more often. There needs to be much greater testing of overweight and obese people.’