Quarter Of A Million At Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes In North East

Almost a quarter of a million people across the North East are at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

The warning from Public Health England (PHE) comes as they’ve released figures showing the estimated percentage of people across the region who are at risk.

PHE say in County Durham alone, more than 50,000 people over the age of 16 are in the high risk bracket. Meanwhile in Darlington 11.7% of the population aged 16 or over are at risk, in Hartlepool 11.6%, Middlesbrough 10.8%, Redcar and Cleveland 12.2%, and 10.9% in Stockton.

Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said; “Having high blood glucose levels significantly increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which is a serious health condition which affects 2.9 million people in England, and can lead to devastating complications such as blindness, amputations and stroke, and ultimately early death. This is why it is really important that people at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes are given evidence based support to reduce their risk.