Diabetes case every three minutes
Updated on 06 January 2009
One person is diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes in the UK, new figures suggest.
Data from the charity Diabetes UK showed that the number of people diagnosed with the condition is growing faster than ever.
Experts examined official figures and found that almost 150,000 people were diagnosed with diabetes in 2008, compared with 100,000 in the previous year.
However, they predict the real figure for 2008 could be closer to 180,000.
Most of the new diagnoses were in people with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to unhealthy lifestyles including obesity.
The condition can lead to long-term complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation, while short-term complications include the risk of hypoglycaemic attacks.
People can also suffer persistent high blood glucose levels, which can be fatal if left untreated.
There are currently 2.5m people in the UK with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and it is estimated that more than half a million people have Type 2 but do not know it.
Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "Diabetes remains one of the biggest health challenges of our time.
"We must protect the health of the nation by taking urgent steps to further raise awareness of diabetes and its complications."
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