Diabetes time-bomb: 300,000 under-50s at risk of amputations and kidney failure

Hundreds of thousands of younger people with diabetes are facing severe complications and could require 'substantial' hospital care in the future, according to an NHS report.

The world's biggest audit of diabetes found that youngsters and those in their 20s, 30s and 40s are at dangerously high risk of serious problems, including kidney failure and stroke.
Diabetics under 54 are less likely than those aged 55 to 69 to receive all the basic health checks needed to keep their condition under control, it found.
Another report from campaigning charity Diabetes UK estimates that 10 per cent of the NHS budget is spent treating the disease and its complications, which is equivalent to £1m an hour.
The latest audit found there are big variations in the types of treatments offered by hospitals and the prevalence of complications according to social group.

Some 2.5 million people in the UK are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, and up to a million more are thought to have the condition without knowing it.
A further 300,000 people have Type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in childhood, but both forms of diabetes are on the rise.

Today's audit said a "large cohort" of a whole generation of people with diabetes are expected to require substantial hospital care in the future.

Almost 300,000 children and under-54s with diabetes have blood sugar levels that are so high they are at high risk of complications.

Another 144,000 have dangerously high risk blood sugar levels while, across all age groups, 800,000 are at high or dangerously high risk.

Serious complications can occur when blood sugar is not kept under control, including limb amputation and blindness.

The National Diabetes Audit 2010 for England and Wales found 42 per cent of those aged 25 to 54 receive the nine basic health checks that should be given by NHS staff, including blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and foot care, compared with 54 per cent of those aged 55 and over.

source: dailymail.co.uk

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