HEALTHY DIETS AND SCIENCE: High blood sugar levels and diabetic complications

The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Thursday 6 May 2010

High blood sugar levels and diabetic complications

This study was published in the British Medical Journal 2000 August 12; 321(7258): 405–412

Study title and authors:

Association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 35): prospective observational study

Irene M Stratton, senior statistician,a Amanda I Adler, epidemiologist,a H Andrew W Neil, university lecturer in clinical epidemiology,b David R Matthews, consultant diabetologist,c Susan E Manley, biochemist,a Carole A Cull, senior statistician,a David Hadden, consultant physician,d Robert C Turner, director,e and Rury R Holman, directora on behalf of the UK Prospective Diabetes Study Group

aDiabetes Trials Unit, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, bDivision of Public Health and Primary Care, Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, cOxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary, dRoyal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BA, eDiabetes Research Laboratories, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Infirmary

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27454/?tool=pmcentrez

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between exposure to high blood sugar over time (HbA1-C levels) and the risk of health complications in patients with type 2 diabetes. In total, the HbA1-C levels of 3,642 patients were analysed.

The study found that for every 1% reduction in HbA1-C levels:

(a) There was a reduction of 21% in diabetes incidence.

(b) There was a reduction of 21% in deaths related to diabetes.

(d) There was a reduction of 14% in fatal and non fatal heart attacks.

(e) There was a reduction of 12% in fatal and non fatal stroke.

(f) There was a reduction of 16% in heart failure.

(g) There was a reduction of 43% in amputations or death from peripheral vascular disease.

This study reveal that in patients with type 2 diabetes the risk of diabetic complications, such as heart disease, was strongly associated with high blood sugar (HbA1-c levels). Any reduction in blood sugar reduce the risk of complications.