Weekly newsletter

Risk of Cancer Four Times Higher in People with Diabetes, Finds University of Pécs

Hungary Today 2024.05.24.

A national study from the University of Pécs Clinical Center found that type 2 diabetes increases the risk of not only cardiovascular and kidney disease, but also cancer. The research found that the risk of cancer was four times higher in diabetics compared to non-diabetics, with young people particularly at risk.

The press release recalls that the Hungarian Diabetes Association, in a recent statement, describes how its nationwide study compared 50,000 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics each year with seven million non-diabetics. They found that diabetics had more than four times the risk of cancer compared with non-diabetics, reports Világgazdaság.

The research was led by the University of Pécs Clinical Center, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrological Center. Professor István Wittmann, head of the working group, highlighted that it was particularly noteworthy that the risk difference in the diabetic group was greater in the younger age group than in the older age group. He added:

The largest risk difference was observed for pancreatic, liver, and kidney cancer (17.43-fold, 8.81-fold and 6.67-fold respectively).

The incidence of cancer has decreased in recent years among non-diabetics, but the rate has not changed in diabetics,” he stressed.

One of the key findings was that it is recommended to screen for tumors within six months of the discovery of type 2 diabetes.

In other words, for younger people with type 2 diabetes, especially after the discovery of diabetes, screening for pancreatic, liver, and kidney cancers is of paramount importance, but looking for other types of tumors may also be important. The specialists of the Clinical Center point out that lesions discovered in time have a higher chance of being successfully cured.

Fact

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that happens because of a problem in the way the body regulates and uses sugar as fuel. That sugar also is called glucose. This long-term condition results in too much sugar circulating in the blood. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous, and immune systems. In type 2 diabetes, there are primarily two problems. The pancreas does not produce enough insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into the cells, and cells respond poorly to insulin and take in less sugar.

As Hungary Today reported, another prestigious Hungarian institution, Semmelweis University, recently conducted research on diabetes. The study searched for a link between a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and the onset of Peripheral neuropathy before the onset of symptoms. Disorders affecting the autonomic and sensory nervous systems are not only found in diabetics, but also in people with blood glucose levels above the normal range who are not yet diabetic – a condition known as pre-diabetes. The researchers looked at whether there are signs of neuropathy in people who are not yet officially pre-diabetic. Risk factors include high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, which are associated with the presence of neuropathy in diabetics and pre-diabetics. To select patients, a risk assessment method (Findrisk) widely used by general practitioners and specialists at home and abroad, was applied.

Innovative Center Promoting the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases Established
Innovative Center Promoting the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases Established

These diseases cause around 60,000 deaths a year in Hungary.Continue reading

Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Pexels


Array
(
    [1536x1536] => Array
        (
            [width] => 1536
            [height] => 1536
            [crop] => 
        )

    [2048x2048] => Array
        (
            [width] => 2048
            [height] => 2048
            [crop] => 
        )

)