Middle aged diabetics can die six years earlier
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Having diabetes in mid-life may reduce a person’s life expectancy by an average of six years, according to a large, multinational study funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). Diabetes is already known to approximately double the risk of heart attacks and strokes, but these new findings show that people with type 2 diabetes are also at greater risk of dying from several other diseases, including cancer and infection. The findings highlight the importance of preventing diabetes, which affects more than 2.5 million people in the UK and nearly 285 million people worldwide.
Scientists from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration - coordinated by the University of Cambridge - analysed data on 820,900 people, each of whom was monitored for around a decade. Even after accounting for other major risk factors such as age, sex, obesity and smoking, the researchers found that people with diabetes are at increased risk of death from several common cancers, infections, mental disorders, and liver, digestive, kidney and lung diseases. About 60 per cent of the reduced life expectancy in people with diabetes is attributable to blood vessel diseases (such as heart attacks and strokes), with the remainder attributable to these other conditions. Only a small part of these associations are explained by obesity, blood pressure or high levels of fat in the blood – conditions which often co-exist with diabetes.
Professor John Danesh, Principal Investigator of the study, from the University of Cambridge, said:
“These findings broaden and intensify the need for efforts to prevent and understand diabetes. In particular, the findings highlight the need for more detailed study of whether treatments against diabetes may also be relevant to lowering the risk of a range of diseases, including common cancers.”
Professor Stephen Holgate, chair of the MRC Population and Systems Medicine Board, said:
“Preventing diabetes becomes that much easier when we have a complete picture of the debilitating effect it has across the body and we know what steps to take to mitigate the damage. This is an excellent example of MRC funded research that builds on our understanding of life expectancy and the factors that influence wellbeing and ageing.”
The collaborative study, which involved over 250 scientists from 25 countries, also suggests that people with diabetes may be at increased risk of death from intentional self-harm - a finding which the scientists say requires further study, including investigation of the possible link between diabetes and depression.
The study, which was funded by the MRC, British Heart Foundation and Pfizer, is published in the New England Journal of Medicine today (Wednesday).
Ends
For more information or to interview Professor Danesh, contact the MRC Press Office on 020 7395 2345 or email: press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
1. Paper reference: Diabetes Mellitus, Fasting Glucose, and Risk of Cause-specific Mortality
2. For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
3. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is the nation’s heart charity, dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information. But we urgently need help. We rely on donations of time and money to continue our life-saving work. Because together we can beat heart disease. For more information visit www.bhf.org.uk/pressoffice
4. The University of Cambridge’s mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. It admits the very best and brightest students, regardless of background, and offers one of the UK’s most generous bursary schemes. The University of Cambridge’s reputation for excellence is known internationally and reflects the scholastic achievements of its academics and students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by its staff. Some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs occurred at the University, including the splitting of the atom, invention of the jet engine and the discoveries of stem cells, plate tectonics, pulsars and the structure of DNA. From Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking, the University has nurtured some of history’s greatest minds and has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other UK institution with over 80 laureates.
