Study pinpoints threats to diabetics
Hong Kong researchers have identified a list of factors that drastically increase the risk of death or potentially fatal diseases among diabetics.
The results of a five-year study, released yesterday, confirmed earlier findings that one in 10 Hong Kong adults suffers from the disease. Diabetes is linked to the deaths of 30 patients every day on average. The Chinese University team based its findings on a comprehensive study of 2,934 patients between 1995 and 2000.
They identified 11 risk factors, including smoking, pre-existing cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and high levels of 'bad' cholesterol, triglycerides or glucose. Men were more susceptible, the team said, especially if they had low levels of 'good' cholesterol.
More than one in four patients who had eight or more risk factors died or suffered a serious heart or renal disease by the second year of being diagnosed.
More than half of such patients died or suffered more serious diseases by the end of the fifth year.
Diabetes expert Professor Juliana Chan Chung-ngor, who headed the research team, said: 'Patients should receive frequent medical checkups, such as every three months, to maintain good health.'
Diabetics are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease and die than otherwise healthy people. Patients are also 25 times more likely to become blind.
Roughly 11,000 deaths in Hong Kong each year are linked to diabetes. Broken down, diabetes leads to an average of one death per hour.
Professor Chan said Asians were genetically more prone to developing diabetes than Caucasians.
