A examine led by Exeter scientists reveals greater than 40 per cent of all sort 1 diabetes instances happen after the age of 30, however the situation is commonly misdiagnosed as sort 2 diabetes as a substitute.
Dr Richard Oram, a senior lecturer on the University of Exeter and marketing consultant doctor, mentioned the findings disprove what medical doctors have at all times believed about sort 1 diabetes.
“Diabetes textbooks for doctors say that type 1 diabetes is a childhood illness,” he mentioned. “But our study shows that it is prevalent throughout life. Follow-up analysis has actually revealed that 50 per cent of those people who we identified as having type 1 diabetes in later life were initially diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. This highlights that type 1 diabetes is often not considered as a diagnosis in adults.”
The research was based mostly on a overview of 500,000 individuals aged 40-69, all of whom lived in England, with info taken from the UK Biobank. Their blood, urine and saliva samples have been examined, and their well being was adopted over a 60-year interval.
“What was really surprising in our research is that nearly 50% of type 1 diabetes cases occurred in adulthood and over 40% occurred after the age of 30,” added Dr Oram. “Although type 1 occurs with the same frequency in adults and children, it can sometimes be hidden in adulthood by the sheer number of type 2 cases.”
Previous research has proven that these individuals who had been wrongly recognized with sort 2 diabetes have been solely given insulin a yr after their misdiagnosis, which might have had severe implications on their well being. Prime Minister Theresa May is amongst these whose sort 1 diabetes was misdiagnosed as sort 2 diabetes in her 50s.
Professor Andrew Hattersley, professor of molecular medication on the University of Exeter and marketing consultant diabetologist on the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, mentioned: “Failure to recognise that the diabetes is type 1 rather than type 2 and give appropriate insulin treatment can be dangerous. Type 1 diabetes should be considered for any patient who is rapidly failing to respond to increasing doses of tablets especially if they are slim.”
The examine has been revealed in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.
