Diabetes cases on the rise

DIABETES cases in Warwickshire have gone up by over 1,000 in the space of a year.

This year around 23,400 cases were recorded in the county, compared to 22,150 last year, with Diabetes UK putting this down to a rise in obesity among the population.

The charity found the majority of new cases were type two diabetes - the form of the disease which develops most commonly in overweight people.

Diabetes UK released the figures after discovering cases across the West Midlands had risen by 14,000 in the space of the year.

Regional manager for the charity, Peter Shorrick, said: "The rate of increase of diabetes is growing with huge human cost and cost to the NHS. The time for action is now.

"Whilst rates of other serious conditions including many cancers, heart disease and stroke are steady or declining, the epidemic of diabetes continues to grow at even faster rates.

“We must reverse this trend if more people are not going to suffer unnecessarily and if diabetes is not going to bankrupt the NHS. Around ten per cent of NHS spending goes on diabetes and its complications - this equates to £9 billion per year or £1 million an hour.”

Risk factors other than obesity include having a large waist, being over 40, having a family history of the condition or being from black, Asian or other ethnic minority communities.

Symptoms include needing to go to the toilet many times - especially at night - increased thirst, extreme tiredness, unexplained weight loss and blurred vision.

The condition can go undetected for up to ten years - meaning around half of people already show signs of complications by the time they are diagnosed. Symptoms are quickly relieved once diabetes is being treated and under control.

Losing ten per cent bodyweight can halve the chances of developing type two diabetes, and people can check their risk level by visiting www.diabetes.org.uk/riskscore.

Mike Caley, public health consultant for NHS Warwickshire, said the rise in cases was down to both increased obesity and improved methods for detecting diabetes.

He added: “We’ve seen a fairly steady rise in the number of people with diabetes in the county over the last three years."