Surge in diabetes raises risk of strokes
Diabetes is now the second-biggest risk factor for stroke, a researcher said.
KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE
MILWAUKEE -- The epidemic of type 2 diabetes cases across the nation is likely to lead to a substantially higher incidence of strokes among middle-aged adults and newly diagnosed diabetics, two studies presented Thursday suggest.
The research is the latest warning of an impending health crisis that may result from the spread of diabetes and obesity, especially among younger adults.
It suggests that diabetes is more of a culprit in strokes than cholesterol and some other risk factors, said Arvind Ahuja, a neurosurgeon and co-medical director of the stroke program at St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee.
"The best treatment for stroke is never to have one," Ahuja said. "The way you prevent that is to take care of your diabetes and hypertension."
In one study, researchers analyzed 2,432 strokes that took place among people in the Cincinnati area.
One-third of those patients had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before their strokes occurred.
Age and race
The average age for the stroke was 70.
However, among those younger than 55, being diabetic increased the risk of stroke six to 17 times more than among nondiabetics.
For instance, among black diabetics age 45 to 54 the annual rate of strokes was 48.5 per 10,000. For whites, it was 32.8 per 10,000.
Among black diabetics age 55 to 64, the annual stroke rate was 147 per 10,000. For whites it was 73 per 10,000.
Although diabetes substantially increased stroke risk in 35- to 44-year-olds, strokes still were uncommon in that group. In blacks, the rate was 39 per 10,000, and in whites it was 11 per 10,000.
"We are just catching the front end [of the surge in diabetes]," said study author Brett Kissela in an interview. "If we have teenage children [newly diagnosed] when they get into their 20s and 30s, the number of strokes are going to go up."
For years, diabetes had been considered the fourth- or fifth-biggest risk factor for stroke, said Kissela, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati. Now, it has moved up to second, just behind high blood pressure, he said.
The research was presented Thursday in Florida at a conference held by the American Stroke Association.
About the disease
Type 2 diabetes, a disease that largely is preventable through proper diet and exercise, afflicts an estimated 18 million Americans. An additional 41 million have a condition known as pre-diabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing diabetes.
About one-third of those with type 2 diabetes don't know they have it.
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body becomes resistant to it. That leads to excess levels of glucose in the blood, which can damage the eyes, kidneys and nerves as well as blood vessels of the heart and brain.