Diabetes – 1 in 4 Do Not Know They Have It

1 in 4 people in England do not know they are suffering from diabetes, making them more prone to heart disease and kidney disease, blindness and amputations, a recent study stated yesterday.
The Healthcare Commission recent audit discovered that almost 50% of women diabetics remain undiagnosed and that fewer than half of diagnosed people are getting eye examinations, rendering them at risk of blindness.
Diabetes entails the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood getting too high due to the body not being able to use it properly. There are around 1-3 million people suffering from diabetes in England today.
The Healthcare Commission audit surveyed 1,700 doctor surgeries and 250,000 diabetics.
The study also reported an underrecording of ethnicity. This needs to be addressed those of South Asian and African-Caribbean origin are at high-risk of diabetes.
“It is important that patients and the public are informed of and understand the benefits of treatment and follow-up care for diabetes, as well as the risks of long term complications that will result without diagnosis and treatment,” said Anna Walker, the chief executive of the Healthcare Commission