Diabetes rates in Bradford district up 30 per cent in four years

Diabetes rates in Bradford and Airedale, West Yorkshire, have seen a large increase in recent years and are expected to continue rising at an alarming rate.
A new report by the Director of Public Health, Dr Anita Parki, shows that there are now around 38,200 people in the district diagnosed with diabetes – equal to 5.3% of the population or roughly one in 20 people – while more than 6,000 people are believed to be living with undiagnosed diabetes.
The figure represents a 30% rise in diabetes cases between 2007/08 and 2011/12, and Dr Parkin estimates that if diabetes incidence continues to increase at the current rate, some 10% of the population (around 56,000 people) will suffer from the disease by 2030.
To address the issue, Dr Parki, along with the district’s three Clinical Commissioning Groups, are now putting together a Bradford District Action Plan aimed at improving the ways patients diagnosed with diabetes are currently treated.
It is also likely to recommend ways in which health bosses can identify individuals at risk of diabetes and prevent them from developing it.
“There are a number of evidence-based, cost-effective ways to prevent diabetes, which at population level may slow the growth in prevalence,” the report said.
An independent review of diabetes services is also under way. The review was sparked after a national audit found that a comparatively low proportion of diabetics in Bradford were receiving all nine of the annual health checks recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).