Report finds new link between liver disease and diabetes

A new study by scientists in the UK has revealed that people suffering from type 2 diabetes are 70 per cent more likely to die from liver disease than those who do not have the illness. This comes after previous research had highlighted how diabetes can raise the chances of some types of liver disease, and that a lack of proper management of blood sugar levels can increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease .
This research involved a review of the health records of 1,267 people with diabetes and 10,100 people without the condition aged between 35 and 84 from 2001 to 2007, who all died from liver disease. It was shown that nearly a quarter of those with diabetes died of liver cancer, as compared with 9 per cent of those without diabetes, but that 63 per cent of people without diabetes died from alcoholic liver disease compared with the 38 per cent of those with diabetes.
These latest findings can be explained by the advice to diabetics not to drink too much alcohol as it affects their blood sugar levels, as well as potentially causing weight gain .
Sarah Wild of University of Edinburgh Medical School, who led the study, commented “Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become much more common recently, particularly among people with diabetes. The major risk factor for it is being overweight, which is also an important risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.”