Cholesterol risk for diabetics

It has been found that the majority of people living with diabetes are not effectively controlling their cholesterol levels.

According to Diabetes UK, 90% of people are having annual checks which will highlight these issues; however, the study showed that many are not addressing these high levels. This means that thousands are being put at risk.

There are currently around 3.7 million people in the UK living with diabetes and 90% of these have Type 2, where the body produces too little insulin or fails to make it properly. In those with Type 1, the body produces no insulin at all.

Barbara Young said, “It is not clear why the high number of people having their annual cholesterol check is not translating into better cholesterol control, but it is an issue that is putting the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.  It will often be appropriate to prescribe medication such as statins, but it is no good doing this without explaining the importance of taking the medication regularly and the potentially devastating consequences of not doing so.  Other ways people can help improve their cholesterol levels include losing weight,
exercising daily, reducing alcohol consumption, stopping smoking and eating a healthy diet, low in fat.”