Hidden killer

It launched a campaign on Friday urging the Government to introduce screening for 'at risk' groups, and calls the condition the 'hidden killer'. It claims new research shows people with diabetes are more than twice as likely to die prematurely as non-sufferers.

With 1.4 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes, and a further million suffering from it but unaware of the fact, the charity says it is one of the 'biggest health challenges' facing the country - especially with the number of sufferers expected to double by 2011.

Too many cases are going undetected for too long. And, even when it is diagnosed, harassed health professionals are often too busy to explain to patients how important it is to manage their condition properly, the charity says.

As a result, much of the £5.2 billion spent every year on diabetes is being used to treat complications - heart disease, kidney disease and blindness among them - all of which could have been prevented.

The charity, which has launched a hard-hitting advertising campaign, wants a screening programme to target people in 'at risk' groups - the over-40s, those with a family history of diabetes, those who are overweight and people of African, Caribbean or Asian origin.

It wants more resources put into the care of those with diabetes, so sufferers can be given proper information about managing the condition. A national strategy for dealing with diabetes was published by the Government last December setting out standards of diabetes care is a start, concedes Diabetes UK chief executive Paul Streets.

"But it will achieve nothing unless Government makes resources available to turn these standards into a reality. Diabetes is too deadly to ignore."

Case studies:

SAM Colebatch is a happy, adventurous boy who loves climbing trees and getting into all the scrapes... as little boys do.

There's one thing which makes the five-year-old from Sutton-on-the-Forest different from his friends at Huby School. Since he was 19 months old, he's suffered from Type 1 diabetes: a condition that will be with him for the rest of his life.

As long as he is careful and takes his insulin injections twice a day, eats regularly, tests his blood up to three or four times a day and never misses a meal - it doesn't affect him too much. "He's full of beans, very adventurous," mum Julia says. "He likes climbing trees, he's very active, he's a normal, happy little boy."

But if he forgets to eat his blood sugar levels will start to drop. Julia knows what that means.

"It's very important he has his snacks between meals," she says. "If he doesn't eat, his sugar is low, then he tends to get very argumentative, moody and bad-tempered."

Like any small boy out playing with his friends, he can be forgetful. So Julia is touched by the way Sam's friends look out for him.

"He's often too busy playing," she says. "But at school, he's got lots of good mates. They all keep an eye on him."

When Sam became ill he began to develop chest infections and an upset stomach.

Then, during one New Year's Eve, he became desperately thirsty. Julia and her partner Richard rushed him to see a GP, half believing it could be diabetes. At first the doctor was reluctant to administer a fingerprick blood test, saying Sam was very young and it would 'not be very nice,' says Julia says.

But she insisted. When the results came, his blood sugar levels were off the scale.

Sam was rushed to York District Hosital. He was put on to insulin injections, but even so, during the next few years, he was in and out of hospital, with sickness and viral infections. He was also often moody and bad-tempered, particularly in the mornings. "Every morning was a nightmare until he had got up and had something to eat!" says Julia.

During the last year or so, however, as Sam has learned to understand his condition, things have improved enormously, says Julia.

He's become very mature for his age, and has learned to accept he can't have certain things when his blood sugar levels are high. "His tastes have adapted," says Julia. "He doesn't have a sweet tooth. When he has Easter Eggs, for example, if his sugar levels are high, he's OK to have a rice snack or an apple instead."

But even so, Julia admits she hates the thought that Sam will have to live with his condition for life. That's why she supports more research into the condition.

"Twenty years is a long time in science," she says. "If something could be sorted by the time he was 25, it would be fantastic!"

Albert Towse was a milkman when he realised the amount of milk he was drinking was getting out of hand.

"I just couldn't quench my thirst," the retired Sheriff Hutton milkman says. "I used to come in at lunchtime, drink a pint of milk, and half an hour later I could drink it again."

Albert, then 56, went to see his doctor. A urine test quickly established he had Type 2 diabetes.

"Although how long I had had it then, I don't know," he says.

He had no other symptoms, and was put on a special low-fat, sugar-free diet. It meant no chocolates or cakes. "I had a sweet tooth, so believe me, it was difficult!"

It worked, though. His terrible, constant thirst disappeared, and he has developed no complications since.

After a couple of years, he switched to insulin injections, which meant he could vary his diet a bit more.

Now 72, he realises he has been fortunate. As long as he takes his insulin injections, and tests his blood regularly, the condition doesn't affect his life too much.

So far, his two children Julie and Keith, both in their forties, have shown no signs of developing diabetes. But Albert is all in favour of screening for those at risk of developing the condition - including children. "The earlier you are diagnosed, the better!" he says.

Diabetes Fact File

Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body is unable to use it properly.

We get glucose from the food we eat - mainly sweet foods or 'starchy' foods such as bread or potatoes. Normally, a hormone called insulin - which is made in a gland called the pancreas - controls the amount of glucose in our blood. Insulin helps the glucose enter the cells that make up our body, where it is used as 'fuel'.

Diabetes develops when we are unable to produce insulin, so that glucose levels spiral out of control. Symptoms include thirst, needing to go to the toilet at night, tiredness, weight loss, blurred vision and genital itching. If left untreated, serious complications can develop, including heart disease, blindness and kidney disease. Diabetes can also lead to death.

There are two main types of diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes develops when there is a severe lack of insulin in the body because most or all of the cells in the pancreas that produce it have been destroyed. This type of diabetes usually appears in people under 40, often children. It is treated by insulin injections and diet (to control intake of glucose).

Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can still produce some insulin - though not enough for its needs - or when the insulin the body produces does not work properly. It usually appears in people over 40 and is treated by diet alone (to control glucose intake), a combination of diet and tablets, or a combination of diet and insulin injections.

- Diabetes UK has a careline - 0207 424 1030 - for those who would like more information about the condition. The charity also has a York branch, which holds monthly meetings for anyone affected by diabetes. Call chairman Julie Thomas on 01904 763500 for more information.

Updated: 08:58 Monday, April 22, 2002