A new study finds that the longer you have this disease, the higher your risk factors for a stroke.
Doctors already know that stroke risk is up to four times greater for diabetics compared to those without the disease. The question addressed by this study was if the risk is highest when you first get diabetes, or if it grows as time passes.
The research followed almost 3,300 seniors (average age 69 years) taking part in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) who had never had a stroke and were living in an ethnically varied area.
Almost 22% of the subjects had diabetes when the study started, and a further 10% developed the condition during the study period. Over the nine years of follow up, there were 244 strokes reported.
The research concluded that the risk of suffering a stroke is higher in those who have diabetes. What's more, when compared to those who don't have diabetes, the chance of stroke goes up quite a bit (3%) every year you live with the condition. After ten years, the researchers say that risk of stroke triples.
This risk remained even after accounting for other factors that we know influence stroke risk - age, smoking, not being active, a heart disease history, hypertension, and high cholesterol numbers.
Researchers explain that the study was able to establish the risk of stroke is rather robust after about a decade.
Where once diabetes was a disease that people got after a lifetime of bad eating and inactivity, today patients are being diagnosed at far younger ages than ever before. As people live longer with this disease, experts worry that the numbers of strokes to occur (and the periods they happen) in this population will be on the rise as well, countering the decline in stroke rates that's been observed over the last few years.
The findings emphasize the importance of preventing diabetes with a healthy, balanced diet and regular, moderately intense activity.
We do know that lifestyle changes in terms of what you eat and how active you have an impact on developing this disease. You need just a half hour of moderately intense physical activity and a 5%-10% drop in body weight by healthy eating to reduce your own risk of diabetes significantly.
While diabetes is a severe and chronic condition, patients can learn to manage it and may well be able to avoid the long-term problems associated with this disease.
When it comes to stroke risk for people with diabetes, experts suggest that you pay particular attention to controlling the other issues that are bad for your heart - hypertension and high cholesterol. By taking care of yourself, you'll not only have more energy and feel better, but you'll have fewer troubles with your eyes, feet, and gums.
The latest work supports the idea that the duration of disease is one of the critical risk factors for a stroke. It's possible that over time diabetes causes damage to the arteries, and blockages might develop at either a higher or quicker rate in those with diabetes.
Doctors already know that stroke risk is up to four times greater for diabetics compared to those without the disease. The question addressed by this study was if the risk is highest when you first get diabetes, or if it grows as time passes.
The research followed almost 3,300 seniors (average age 69 years) taking part in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) who had never had a stroke and were living in an ethnically varied area.
Almost 22% of the subjects had diabetes when the study started, and a further 10% developed the condition during the study period. Over the nine years of follow up, there were 244 strokes reported.
The research concluded that the risk of suffering a stroke is higher in those who have diabetes. What's more, when compared to those who don't have diabetes, the chance of stroke goes up quite a bit (3%) every year you live with the condition. After ten years, the researchers say that risk of stroke triples.
This risk remained even after accounting for other factors that we know influence stroke risk - age, smoking, not being active, a heart disease history, hypertension, and high cholesterol numbers.
Researchers explain that the study was able to establish the risk of stroke is rather robust after about a decade.
Where once diabetes was a disease that people got after a lifetime of bad eating and inactivity, today patients are being diagnosed at far younger ages than ever before. As people live longer with this disease, experts worry that the numbers of strokes to occur (and the periods they happen) in this population will be on the rise as well, countering the decline in stroke rates that's been observed over the last few years.
The findings emphasize the importance of preventing diabetes with a healthy, balanced diet and regular, moderately intense activity.
We do know that lifestyle changes in terms of what you eat and how active you have an impact on developing this disease. You need just a half hour of moderately intense physical activity and a 5%-10% drop in body weight by healthy eating to reduce your own risk of diabetes significantly.
While diabetes is a severe and chronic condition, patients can learn to manage it and may well be able to avoid the long-term problems associated with this disease.
When it comes to stroke risk for people with diabetes, experts suggest that you pay particular attention to controlling the other issues that are bad for your heart - hypertension and high cholesterol. By taking care of yourself, you'll not only have more energy and feel better, but you'll have fewer troubles with your eyes, feet, and gums.
The latest work supports the idea that the duration of disease is one of the critical risk factors for a stroke. It's possible that over time diabetes causes damage to the arteries, and blockages might develop at either a higher or quicker rate in those with diabetes.
Diabetes - One Of The Risk Factors For A Stroke
![Diabetes - One Of The Risk Factors For A Stroke]()
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