Re: Nondiabetics Should Watch Blood Sugar, Too
From: Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD (andrew_at_heartmdphd.com)
Date: 09/28/04
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Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:14:42 -0400
Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
> http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?id=279&title=Nondiabetics+Should+Watch+Blood+Sugar%2C+Too&event=news_print_list_item
>
> Steven Reinberg, "Nondiabetics Should Watch Blood Sugar, Too", Forbes,
> September 20, 2004,
> Link: http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/09/20/hscout521255.html
>
> High blood sugar levels aren't a heart disease concern for diabetics
> only.
>
> While it has been long known that diabetics have higher odds of heart
> disease and stroke when their blood sugar is not controlled, a new
> study suggests a high glucose mark is a risk factor in nondiabetics as
> well.
>
> "Diabetes is well-recognized to be associated with increased risk of
> cardiovascular disease," said lead author Dr. Kay-Tee Khaw, a
> professor at the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of
> Cambridge in England.
>
> However, even in people who do not have diabetes, levels of glycated
> hemoglobin, which is an indicator of long-term blood glucose level,
> predicted cardiovascular disease incidence and total mortality in
> 10,232 men and women aged 45 to 79 living in the general community in
> Britain, who were followed up over six years, she said.
>
> The relationship of cardiovascular disease and mortality was
> continuous and increased with increasing blood glucose levels, even
> across the normal, nondiabetic range, in a linear relationship, Khaw
> said.
>
> According to the report, an increase of glycated hemoglobin of 1
> percent was associated with about a 25 percent higher risk of death.
> "Fifteen percent of the deaths occur in the 4 percent of the
> population with diabetes or glycated hemoglobin levels of 7 percent or
> more, but 72 percent occurred in those with glycated hemoglobin levels
> above the optimal level of less than 5 percent," she said.
>
> The increased risk was independent of classical cardiovascular disease
> risk factors including age, blood pressure, blood lipids, cigarette
> smoking and body mass index, Khaw said.
>
> The report appears in the Sept. 21 issue of the Annals of Internal
> Medicine.
>
> "Even in persons without diabetes, higher levels of glycated
> hemoglobin may indicate persons at higher risk of cardiovascular
> disease," Khaw said. "This may be helpful in identifying those who may
> benefit most from preventive interventions, such as
> cholesterol-lowering or blood pressure- lowering medication."
>
> Khaw said there is no evidence from intervention studies that lowering
> blood glucose levels in people who do not have diabetes may reduce
> heart disease.
>
> "However, we already know from trials that behavioral interventions,
> such as physical activity and reduction of obesity, can reduce blood
> glucose levels and prevent diabetes in high-risk individuals. This may
> strengthen existing advice for lifestyle modification to prevent
> cardiovascular disease in the general population," she said.
>
> In another report in the same journal, Elizabeth Selvin, a graduate
> student in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins
> Bloomberg School of Public Health and her colleagues add to the
> evidence of the connection between high blood sugar and heart disease
> among diabetics.
>
> Selvin's team reviewed 13 previously published studies on the
> relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin and heart disease risk.
>
> They found that people with type 2 diabetes had an 18 percent
> increased risk for cardiovascular disease for each 1 percent increase
> in glycosylated hemoglobin level. In addition, people with type 1
> diabetes had a 15 percent increase risk for cardiovascular disease
> risk for each 1 percent increase in glycosylated hemoglobin level.
>
> "In persons with diabetes, it is clear that known risk factors for
> cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol
> and smoking should be treated aggressively," Selvin said. "But our
> study suggests that patients and physicians should also be paying
> attention to blood sugar levels to prevent heart disease in persons
> with diabetes. Our results suggest that lowering glucose levels in
> persons with diabetes may further reduce their risk of heart disease."
>
> "It is clear from the two articles that an abnormal glucose level is
> now well-established as a risk factor for future heart attacks and
> strokes and deaths from cardiovascular disease," said Hertzel
> Gerstein, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Canada.
>
> Gerstein, the author of an accompanying editorial, said glucose levels
> should be considered in the same way as cholesterol levels or blood
> pressure. "It's a marker for cardiovascular risk in everybody, not
> just in people with diabetes," he added.
>
> To combat high glucose, Gerstein recommends moderate physical activity
> and eating less. "We know that if everybody were able to make these
> minor changes, they would reduce their risk of diabetes and rises in
> glucose levels," he said.
If you wish to tell people to eat less, you need to help them figure how much they are eating:
http://www.heartmdphd.com/wtloss.asp
Servant to the humblest person in the universe,
Andrew
-- Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD Board-Certified Cardiologist http://www.heartmdphd.com/ ** Who is the humblest person in the universe? http://makeashorterlink.com/?L26062048 What is all this about? http://makeashorterlink.com/?R20632B48 Is this spam? http://makeashorterlink.com/?N69721867
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