DIABETES by numbers A healthy lifestyle
Saturated fat
may be more harmful to the
liver
is crucial to
preventing diabetes
and heart disease. A study surveying
3,679 US
adults without diabetes found that
only 3.1%
of participants met the combined recommended diet and physical activity goals.
than unsaturated fat or simple sugars. In a study of
38 overweight people overfed
1000 extra Kcal/day of saturated, unsaturated fats, or simple sugars for 3 weeks, extra calories from saturated fat increased
met the fruit, vegetable, and dairy recommendations.
liver triglyceride content by 55%. Excess unsaturated fats increased this content by 15%, and sugars by 33%. Decreas-
met the physical activity and the weight loss/maintenance goals, respectively.1
3.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29844096
21%, 29%, and 13% 37.8% and 58.6%
ing intakes of saturated fat may reduce the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver.3
1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29500166
A large Korean study showed that
cancer
may increase the risk of
type 2 diabetes. The study included
524,089
men and women with no cancer or diabetes at baseline, followed-up for 7 years.
15,130
participants developed cancer and
26,610
developed type 2 diabetes. Cancer was associated with a
1.35X greater risk
for developing type 2 diabetes. Pancreatic, kidney, and liver cancers were associated with the highest diabetes risk, increasing this risk by
5.15X, 2.06X, and 1.95X.
2
2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29879271
24
www.cardiometabolichealth.org
A recent study published in Diabetes Care shows the staggering economic impacts of diabetes in the US in 2017. The cost of diabetes increased by 26% from 2012-2017, and now costs the US economy $327 billion – including
$237 billion
in direct medical costs and
$90 billion
in lost productivity. Diabetes care accounts for 1 in 4 US healthcare dollars. Diabetics spend an average of $16,7500 in medical care a year, and have medical costs that are
2.3X higher
than non-diabetics.5 Controlling blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol are important for the long-term management of type 2 diabetes. In a retrospective study of 53,120 patients with type 2 diabetes selected from the Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records, achieving treatment goals of
HbA1c <7.0%, LDL-C <100 mg/dL, and BP <140/90 mmHg (triple-goal achievement) was associated with a decreased risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications, and all-cause mortality, with 13,507 patients achieving all three of these targets.4
4.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29596940
5.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29567642
Food insecurity and living in areas with low physical access to nutritious foods may complicate symptom control in diabetics. A longitudinal study that followed 391 diabetics for a total of 37 months, showed that food insecurity is associated with a 0.6%, or 6.6 mmol/mol higher HbA1c compared to participants that were food secure. Living in an area with low food access was not associated with a change in HbA1c.6 6.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29555650