The CDiabetes News Brief: September 15 to 21, 2014

 

Prediabetes raises risk of certain cancers

Having diabetes can lead to a lot of different problems, including cancer. Even people who have high blood glucose levels but don’t yet have diabetes still have a higher chance of getting cancer. A new study showed that people with prediabetes had a 15% higher risk. Almost 900,000 people were tested for over 3 years, and the researchers found that people with prediabetes were more likely to have stomach, liver and pancreatic cancers. This study shows how important it is to keep blood glucose levels under control, even if you don’t have diabetes.
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Lifestyle changes can help kids avoid heart conditions

Childhood obesity is a growing problem, and it can lead to serious health issues as kids grow up. There is good news, however. Researchers recently found that using the common diabetes medicine metformin, along with a special kind of lifestyle therapy, helped teenagers with obesity get healthier. Together, these two treatments lowered the kids’ chances of getting diabetes, and even lowered their risk for future heart problems. Those who lost weight as part of the test saw the most improvement, which shows how important long-term lifestyle changes are for children’s health.
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Fat shaming may actually cause people to gain weight

Losing weight can be hard, and if you have problems with it yourself, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced fat-shaming. This is when someone is discriminated against because of his or her weight, and some think it encourages them to lose the weight. However, a new study has shown that the opposite is true. Nearly 3,000 people from the UK were tested for 4 years, and it was found that people who had been fat-shamed gained weight, while those who hadn’t were more likely to lose it. Some scientists think that this is because people who are shamed are more likely to eat comfort food.
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Some medicines are connected to heart disease after long-term use

Getting treatment for diabetes is very important, and it makes a big difference to your health as you get older. Be warned though, that not all medicines are safe to use for long periods of time. Some diabetes medicines, called sulfonylureas, are connected to heart problems in women who use them for many years. A new study has shown that women who use sulfonylureas for over 10 years have a much higher chance of getting heart disease than those who don’t use them at all, or who use them for less than 5 years.
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Diabetes-related foot infections and amputations lower than ever

Infections in the feet are a big risk for people with diabetes, and they can be hard to treat. In some serious cases, healthcare providers might need to amputate a toe or more. Luckily, these infections are becoming more and more rare as medicine improves. A recent study showed that the number of people who go to the hospital with foot infections has been decreasing since 1996. The number of amputations has also gone down. However, it’s still important to take proper care of your feet to reduce the risk of infection as much as you can.
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Many people with diabetes don’t get enough exercise

Exercise is a great way to stay healthy, especially if you have a condition like diabetes or prediabetes. It can help you keep your blood glucose levels low and avoid a lot of the complications that diabetes can cause. However, a new study showed that most people with diabetes don’t get enough exercise. The participants were split into groups of men, women, and those who were or were not trying to lose weight. Women trying to lose weight did best; they exercised up to 74% more than the others.
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Certain gadgets can help you lose weight

Coping with a chronic condition is hard, and some people with diabetes enjoy using new technologies to help them keep track of the numbers they need to know. There are a lot of different gadgets you can use to help you out, from the important ones, like blood glucose meters, to the optional but helpful ones. Research has shown that using devices like these to help you lose weight is effective for most people. People who use various gadgets to help them lose weight as part of their normal care are more likely to be successful than those who aren’t.
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Blood glucose may not be the best test for type 2 diabetes

Even if you don’t have diabetes, you can still have some of the problems that are connected to the disease. This is especially true if you have prediabetes, as new research has shown that the current way of diagnosing diabetes can miss a lot of people. Certain problems caused by diabetes were found in people who didn’t have a high enough blood glucose to be diagnosed, even though most of them had prediabetes. Because of this, healthcare providers want to change how diabetes is diagnosed, so that problems like these are avoided or treated more quickly.
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Glaucoma medicine may lead to new treatment for diabetes

Since diabetes is becoming more common all over the world, a lot of time is spent looking into new medicines to treat it. Sometimes, medicines that are already used for certain problems can have useful side effects for others. Methazolamide, which is normally used to treat glaucoma, also helps to lower blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. Scientists hope to make new diabetes medicines (which don’t have the side effects of current treatments) using this research.
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Coffee raises diabetes risk in young people with high blood pressure

It’s well known that your chances of getting diabetes are increased by bad eating habits, but you might not know what specific foods and drinks to avoid. Now, some researchers believe that if you are young and have high blood pressure, you should avoid coffee. New research has shown that this group of people is more in danger of getting diabetes if they drink three cups a day or more. This amount doubled their changes of getting diabetes, even though other research has shown that coffee can lower many people’s risk.
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