Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of T2D by a third compared to drinking less that one cup per day, a study published in Diabetologia has shown.
The team from Harvard School of Public Health, MA, USA, headed by Dr Frank Hu and Dr Shilpa Bhupathiraju wrote in the paper: “Changes in coffee consumption habits appear to affect diabetes risk in a relatively short amount of time. […] Our findings confirm those of prospective studies that higher coffee consumption is associated with a lower T2D risk and provide novel evidence that changes in coffee consumption habits are related to diabetes risk.”
– The Telegraph, 25 April 2014
Sniffing out diabetes
Medical Detection Dogs is a charity which trains dogs to smell several cancer types, warn owners with allergies away from their allergens and gauge blood glucose levels of owners with diabetes.
Established in 2008 by Dr Claire Guest, now CEO and Director of Operations, the diabetes dogs are specifically trained to alert their owners when their blood glucose levels are too low by nudging, licking or even carrying over diabetes testing kits, often before blood glucose readings signal low blood glucose. The dogs are rewarded when they correctly warn their owner of low blood glucose.
Of the 50 medical detection dogs in action in England and Wales, the majority are diabetes dogs who assist people with severe hyopglycaemia unawareness.
For more information, visit the Medical Detection Dogs website at: www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk.
– Ouch, BBC News, 8 May 2014
Unnecessary lower limb amputations in the UK
People with diabetes are at risk of undergoing unnecessary lower limb and foot amputations, with massive variation in rates across the UK.
An all-party parliamentary group on vascular disease has released a report stating amputations are twice as likely for adults with diabetes in the south-west of England compared with London, and advises a more consistent approach to the treatment of peripheral arterial disease, which can be a precursor for diabetic foot.
Nikki Joule, policy manager at Diabetes UK, said: “Up to 80% of amputations are avoidable with good preventative foot care in the community and fast access to a specialist multidisciplinary team when needed.”
– The Guardian, 19 March 2014
Two large meals-a-day: T2D treatment
Eating two large meals a day may be more effective at managing T2D than eating smaller, more regular meals researchers in the Czech Republic have found.
Two groups of 27 people consumed the same 1700 calorie diet, but spread over two or six meals-a-day for 12 weeks, then switched diets. Those eating two meals a day lost more weight and had improved blood glucose compared to those eating six meals.
Eating two meals between 06:00 and 10:00 and 12:00 and 16:00 left participants feeling more satisfied and less hungry than eating smaller meals more regularly.
– BBC News, 16 May 2014
One in seven hospital inpatients have diabetes
One in seven hospital beds is occupied by someone with diabetes, a report from Diabetes UK has revealed. At present the NHS in England spends in the range of £2.3–£2.5 billion on hospital inpatient care alone for diabetes, around 11% of all expenditure on inpatient care. This is pushing the NHS bill to a record £10 billion a year in total for treating the condition.
People with diabetes usually have, on average, a 3-day longer stay in hospital and regularly experience medical mistakes and avoidable deterioration in their condition.
– Daily Mail, 5 May 2014
Amid accumulating evidence of benefits with new diabetes drugs, Vinod Patel asks whether the costs can be justified.
9 Nov 2023