In a new study, researchers found that people living with diabetes are at greater risk of bone fractures.
They found that people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of suffering hip and non-vertebral fractures (those not occurring in the spine or skull).
The findings show people with type 1 diabetes are at greater risk than people with type 2 diabetes, however, insulin use and length of time someone has lived with the condition further increased the risk for people with type 2 diabetes.
The research was led by the University of Sheffield and elsewhere.
One in 15 people in the UK has diabetes—a serious condition where your blood glucose level is too high.
There are two main types, type 1—when your body can’t make insulin at all and type 2—when the insulin your body makes either can’t work effectively, or you can’t produce enough of it.
Diabetes can cause a number of well-known complications including kidney problems, loss of eyesight, problems with your feet, and nerve damage.
However, until now many people with diabetes and their doctors are unaware that they are also at greater risk of bone fractures.
This study highlights the impact of the condition on bone health—specifically fractures.
The team says doctors need to raise awareness about the greater risk people with diabetes face to help them to prevent fractures. For example, preventing falls can reduce the risk of fracture.
Fractures can be very serious, especially in older people. Hip fractures are the most severe as they cause such a high disability.
Around 76,000 people in the UK suffer a hip fracture every year and it is thought as many as 20 percents of people will die within a year of the fracture.
Many others don’t fully regain mobility, and for many people, it can cause a loss of independence.
This important research highlights the urgent need for doctors to evaluate the risk of fracture for patients with diabetes and also to look at potential treatments that may help to reduce that risk.
The team hopes that by raising awareness about the greater risk people with diabetes face, bone density and bone strength will become something that doctors assess routinely in patients with the condition in the same way they do currently for other well-known complications.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Tatiane Vilaca from the University of Sheffield’s Mellanby Centre for Bone Research.
The study is published in Bone.
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