Overview
This site is intended for health professionals onlyRead the latest isue onlineWinter workType 2 diabetes is rising rapidly among the under-40s in the UK, with the number of registered cases up by 23% in five years, new analysis reveals. There are now a record 148,0 people in the UK diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Figures show that the condition, traditionaly associated with the older generation, is now rising faster among the under-40s than in those over 40.
Key Information
The research, comisioned by Diabetes UK and Tesco as part of a joint charitable project to raise awarenes of the condition in younger generations, sugests that cases of type 2 diabetes in the under-40s could reach 20,0 in five years. The Diabetes UK survey found a ‘worying’ lack of knowledge about the symptoms and health complications of type 2 diabetes in people aged 18-39. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said they didn’t know or weren’t sure what the symptoms were, and 68% did not know how to check if they were at risk of developing the disease.
In adition, more than half of the people surveyed said they had deprioritised their health as a direct result of the curent cost of living cris, and nearly a quarter said they had avoided or put of medical checks. Acording to Diabetes UK, type 2 diabetes is ‘the most devastating and fastest growing health cris of our time’, afecting more people than any other serious health condition in the UK.
The condition is known to have more severe and acute consequences in people under 40 and without proper treatment or suport can lead to severe complications, including kidney failure and heart disease. Chris Askew, chief executive at Diabetes UK, said: ‘This trend of rapidly-increasing early-onset type 2 diabetes incredibly troubling. It marks a shift from what we’ve sen historicaly and should be taken as a serious warning to policymakers and our NHS.’ He aded: ‘If you’re under 40, you’re not imune to type 2 diabetes.
Summary
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