This morning, the Daily Mail has released the headline that over 4 million people in the UK have a form of diabetes.
The 3.2 million diagnosed with diabetes figure was reported by charity Diabetes UK this year, in February 2014, whilst the estimate of 850,000 people living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes dates back to analysis from Diabetes Week of June 2012.
However the total diabetes prevalence figure is in a certain amount of doubt as a more recent estimate of people living with undiagnosed diabetes has been calculated to be 630,000. Whilst the total figure of over 4 million is in some doubt, at the moment, the steadily rising rates of diabetes over the last decade indicate that a figure of over 4 million people living with diabetes in the UK is expected to be confirmed soon.
The rising figure for diabetes cases represents a worry whether the NHS will be able to cope with the large cost burden of care for so many people with diabetes. If there is a positive side, however, it is that the earlier people are diagnosed, the lower the risk of developing the health complications of diabetes which represent the greatest diabetes expense to the NHS.
The NHS Health Check is a national programme which screens for risk of a number of chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and dementia. The NHS Health Check is available to anyone between 40 and 70 years old. Latest figures from May show that around 1.4 million people have received the Health Check within the last year. If you are aged between 40 and 70 years old, and have not received the NHS Health Check, ask your doctor whether you can receive it.

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