Research finds early blood sugar control can reduce diabetic deaths
The study was a collaboration between Oxford and Edinburgh universities
New research has found that by treating Type 2 Diabetes earlier and getting blood sugar levels under control, there will be far fewer deaths to the condition.
The study, carried out by scientists at the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, looked at data which stretches back four decades from the UK Prospective Diabetes Study.
Taking figures from the well-known research paper and tracking trends using yearly data, it was revealed that by controlling glucose earlier, there was a 10% reduction in the number of people dying due to the disease.
As well as this, the results of the study found that the risk of developing complications from the disease such as heart attacks, kidney failures and vision loss had been brought down significantly.
Of the complications, some 17% of respondents had fewer heart attacks and 26% had found fewer complications in having the disease at all.
Similarly, the use of the likes of metformin - a drug to help regulate insulin better in the body, brought a 31% reduction in having a heart attack.
Speaking about the results of the study, Professor Rury Holman, the founding director of the University of Oxford Diabetes Trials Unit, said: "These remarkable findings emphasise the critical importance of detecting and treating type 2 diabetes intensively at the earliest possible opportunity."
Holman, who also worked on the original Prospective Diabetes Study, added: "People may have type 2 diabetes for several years before being diagnosed as they may have few symptoms until their blood sugars become substantially elevated."
The first edition of the trial came back in 1977, when those who had just been diagnosed as having Type 2 Diabetes were assigned to varying strengths of glucose control.
After an initial run, it was soon found that intensive glucose control provided far better results for patients, with scientists recommending intensive therapies for future diagnosed patients.
Professor Philip Clarke, who worked as the director of the University of Oxford Health Economics Research Centre, praised the results of the study, saying: "A major life-time benefit is the increased life-expectancy in those allocated to intensive blood glucose control.
"The reduced rate of many diabetes-related complications will have a positive impact on overall quality of life."
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