OVER HALF OF those people who took advantage of a recent free diabetic check offer ended up being referred back to their GP’s for further tests.
A total of 115 people attended a ‘know your risk’ roadshow event run by the Diabetes UK charity in
Elgin.
Now they have revealed that of those who were checked 54% were discovered to require further checks as their blood sugar levels indicated possible pre-diabetes or diabetes itself.
Pre-diabetes is a relatively new condition given to people whose have levels of sugar in their blood indicate that while they may not yet have Type II Diabetes, they were in real danger from having the condition in the near future.
Diabetes carries with it several serious risks to the health of those who suffer the condition, most notably blindness and kidney failure as well as an increased risk of suffering a stroke. While the most likely factor in developing Type II Diabetes is being overweight, that is not always the case.
Linda McGlynn from Diabetes UK said that as a result of the roadshow she hoped that many more people in the pre-diabetes range would change their lifestyles and in doing so reduce the risks of developing the illness.