Scientists in Singapore have found that people who have developed diabetes are at a greater risk of also developing chronic kidney disease, and should have their blood and urine tested every year to help detect kidney disease at an early stage.
The study, carried out by a team from Singapore General Hospital, Singapore Eye Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Alexandra Hospital, Health Promotion Board and the Ministry of Health, found that the risk of chronic kidney disease for diabetes patients was between three and five time higher than for non-diabetics.
They assessed data from interviews with nearly 8,000 participants over a four-year period to identify the impact of diabetes treatments, including the diabetes drug linaglipti, on patients with chronic kidney disease, especially as many traditional therapies are not able to be used or require adjustments to the dosage.
In addition, people using these treatments should experience a reduction in the risk of hypoglycaemia, as well as in weight gain. It was claimed that the eradication of diabetes could mean up to a 40 per cent lowering in the risk of kidney disease.
However, it was also recommended that lifestyle changes are the most important consideration. As Tai E. Shyong, senior consultant in the division of endocrinology at the National University Hospital in Singapore, commented “You’ve got to get the diet right, you’ve got to have adequate physical activity. Drugs, by and large, are for when those measures fail.”

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