Poor families twice as likely to get diabetes than the well-off

Published on Saturday 12 April 2008 11:02

PEOPLE living in deprived parts of Edinburgh are almost twice as likely to get diabetes as those living in more affluent areas.

Experts have warned the Capital is facing a diabetes timebomb due to rising obesity and deteriorating levels of health.

A new study has found 4.2 per cent of residents in the poorest pockets of the Lothians suffered from diabetes. That is not only far higher than the 2.4 per cent in richer areas, but also significantly higher than the 3.2 per cent in the most deprived parts of Glasgow, although it is possible not all GPs participated in the study, potentially distorting the figures.

Experts from Edinburgh and Glasgow universities, who carried out the study, blamed rising obesity levels for the gulf.

Sarah Wild, senior lecturer in epidemiology and public health at Edinburgh University, admitted: "This is the major concern. Fantastic improvements have been made in heart disease but that is now starting to level off, or even increase, because of higher diabetes prevalence.

"If children are starting to develop diabetes – it used to affect people during middle age – they will be living with it for longer, and will have more time to develop problems such as heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.

"So it is a concern that we are seeing more and more people with diabetes."

A "smoking map" released this week showed it was also more prevalent in poorer areas of Edinburgh, with half of those in the most deprived areas addicted to cigarettes, compared to just one in ten elsewhere.

Although smoking does not cause diabetes, both can lead to heart problems and together make a lethal cocktail.

Dr Wild said: "Diabetes can lead to heart disease, smoking is bad for your heart, both together is really, really bad."

ASH Scotland believes too few smoking cessation services are available on people's doorstep, in deprived areas, making it less likely they will give up.

However, diabetes researchers do not believe it is a lack of help available that is the problem, but a shortage of understanding and money.

Dr Wild said the main problem lay with the culture of laziness endemic within modern society.

He said: "The difficulty is getting people to be more physically active. We are programmed to be fat and lazy and the gulf relates to education, because it is much easier to take the easy option and we have to fight against that.

"You have to pay to go to the gym, you pay more for fruit and vegetables than a bag of chips – it is easier to be fat in today's society."

www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk, www.ed.ac.uk, www.gla.ac.uk