Diabetes sufferers are almost 50 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack than the rest of the population according to new figures
People with diabetes are almost 50 per cent more likely to have a heart attack than the rest of the population, says a new report.
It reveals for the first time the scale of complications affecting people with diabetes, who also have a much greater risk of potentially fatal conditions like heart failure, angina and stroke and of needing amputations.
And it's not only those with type 2 diabetes - type 1 diabetes sufferers, a condition which develops in childhood, are also at a greater risk of heart attack.
The findings come from the National Diabetes Audit which analysed the care of two million people with diabetes in 2010/11 in England and Wales.
According to the report, 14,476 of those included in the audit had a heart attack during 2010/11, which is 4,694 more than expected.
In 2010/11 - 45,000 people with diabetes suffered heart failure - 17,700 (65 per cent) more than the number expected (27,300).
The report found people with diabetes are at a 40 per cent higher risk of death than the general population, with 65,700 diabetics dying in 2011 - when 47,000 such deaths were expected.
People with diabetes are at a 40 per cent higher risk of death than the general population, with 65,700 diabetics dying in 2011 - when 47,000 such deaths were expected.
The report estimates there were 22,200 excess deaths in England and 1,900 in Wales among people with diabetes.
Around 2.8 million people have diabetes in the UK, while an additional 850,000 people are unaware they have it.
The report included people with type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in childhood and is controlled by insulin injections, and type 2 - which is linked to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.
Nine out of ten people with diabetes have type 2 which occurs when the body gradually loses the ability to process blood sugar, leading to high levels which can damage body organs and years of ill-health.
A diabetic is pictured using a lancet to test blood glucose levels. The study showed that both type 1 and type 2 diabetes sufferers are at risk of heart problems and health complications (file picture)
The report estimates there were 22,200 excess deaths in England and 1,900 in Wales among people with diabetes.
Women with diabetes were at a greater relative risk of death than men with diabetes: at 142 per cent for Type 1 and 40 per cent for Type 2 for women, compared to 130 per cent and 33 per cent respectively for men.
Audit lead clinician Dr Bob Young said: 'These results highlight the huge impact of diabetes on disability and premature death.
'Some districts have appreciably lower diabetes related complications than others.'
The audit for England and Wales is managed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) in partnership with Diabetes UK and commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP).
Campaigners claim the health toll is the 'tip of the iceberg' as the audit does not include 10 per cent of people with the condition and those living elsewhere in the UK.
Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: 'It is a tragedy that a large proportion of these thousands of extra heart attacks could have been prevented simply through better education, treatment and care.
'We hope this report spurs the NHS into action to improve the current situation where fewer than half of people with diabetes meet the recommended cholesterol levels and a significant minority are not even having it measured.'
A report from MPs last month found 24,000 people with diabetes die needlessly each year despite the NHS spending £3.9 billion on their care.
There is an 'unacceptable postcode lottery' of care across the country, with massive variations, said the Public Accounts Committee.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said 'People with diabetes should be able to expect excellent care from the NHS and they will get it more consistently in future.
'I know there has been progress, but there is still unacceptable variation and we are determined to put that right.'
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt says that people with diabetes will be able to expect more consistent healthcare from the NHS in the future
UK 'HAS HIGH CHILD DIABETES RATE', SAYS HEALTH CHARITY
The UK has the fifth highest rate of type 1 diabetes, which develops in children, according to a charity
The UK has the world's fifth highest rate of type 1 diabetes, which develops in children, according to a health charity.
Diabetes UK says 24.5 per 100,000 children under 14 in the UK are diagnosed every year with Type 1 diabetes which, unlike the other main strand, Type 2, is not linked to lifestyle or obesity factors.
Of the 89 countries included in the charity's data, only Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway have higher rates than the UK.
The UK rate is more than double that in France and Italy; and in Papua New Guinea and Venezuela, which have the joint lowest reported rates in the world, just 0.1 per 100,000 develop the condition a year.
Scientists do not fully understand why there is such wide variation, but genetics is thought to play a role.
Type 1 diabetes, where the body does not produce insulin, can lead to serious illness and even death if it is not diagnosed quickly.
In the UK only 9 per cent of parents are aware of its symptoms and a quarter of the 2,000 children a year who develop diabetes are only diagnosed once they are already ill, according to the charity.
Symptoms include; frequent urinating; excessive thirst; extreme tiredness; and unexplained weight loss.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2255890/People-diabetes-50-likely-heart-attack-disease-childhood.html#ixzz2GqPS3cbN
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
