Diabetes deaths soar as obesity levels increase

DEATHS from diabetes among younger people in Scotland have soared in the past 20 years, fuelled by rising levels of obesity.

According to new figures, the mortality rate from the condition among under 50s has nearly doubled in men since 1990, while in women the level has grown almost five-fold.

Researchers, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, expressed shock that diabetes death rates were rising at a time when those from cancer, heart disease and respiratory illnesses were falling. They believe people under the age of 50 should not be dying from diabetes as available treatments should be keeping them alive.

However, doctors said efforts to improve survival rates were being overwhelmed by growing numbers of people developing diabetes at a younger age due to obesity.

In Scotland, the number of cases of diabetes has risen dramatically in recent years, with 4.6 per cent of the population thought to be affected – up from 2 per cent a decade ago.

The condition – caused by the body not producing enough insulin to control blood sugar levels – is now linked to more than 4,000 deaths a year in Scotland, either as the main cause or a contributory factor. In the latest study, the researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), set out to measure what they called “deaths amenable to healthcare” – defined as deaths which should not occur with timely and effective care.

They found that across the UK this type of mortality from different illnesses had fallen in the past 20 years as funding for healthcare had risen.

The exception was in people under 50 with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is normally diagnosed earlier in life and has to be controlled with injections of insulin, while Type 2 develops later, usually linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight. Treatment for Type 2 will depend on the severity of the diabetes.

The figures show that in Scotland the death rate from diabetes in men under 50 increased from 0.75 deaths per 100,000 people in 1990 to 1.38 in 2009. In women, the rate increased even more from 0.22 in 1990 to 1.02 in 2009.

Researcher Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health at LSHTM, said: “People should not be dying at relatively young ages from diabetes. That is the key thing.Health systems nowadays should be able to keep them alive. What we are able to say from this data is that we need to look in more detail at exactly what is happening.”

McKee said diabetes was a completely treatable condition and had been since the discovery of insulin in 1921. But the researcher said he had concerns that falling health budgets across the UK would have an impact on efforts to tackle problems like diabetes.

Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at Glasgow University, said the growing obese population developing Type 2 diabetes at a younger age was challenging efforts to improve survival. He added: “There are groups of individuals now who are younger, more obese, developing diabetes sooner who more rapidly undergo progression through diabetes to needing more and more drugs more quickly.”

Jane-Claire Judson, national director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said: “Over the past ten years progress has been made in delivering quality diabetes care across Scotland. We have a national Diabetes Action Plan and excellent clinical guidelines.

“However, this research points to something else entirely and that is a failure to recognise that diabetes is a life-threatening condition.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We want people with diabetes to get access to the best possible care and ensure that the risk of serious complications are minimised.”