Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Linked with Colorectal Cancer among Men

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is linked with increased risk of incident colorectal cancer (CRC) among men, revealed a study. The risk was higher for those participants with Type 2 Diabetes regardless of whether or not they used insulin. Though the linkage between the two conditions is evident, it is not clear if this association varies by gender or other factors.

Hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, which are especially prominent during the early stages of Type 2 Diabetes, have been proposed as mediators for the association between the two diseases.

However, as far as women are concerned, the study revealed that Type 2 Diabetes and insulin use were not associated with CRC risk among them.

Peter T. Campbell, lead author of this study, said, "While our study supports an association of Type 2 Diabetes with colorectal cancer incidence among men, our results also suggest that insulin use is associated with a slight, but not a substantially increased, risk of colorectal cancer among men with Type 2 Diabetes.”

The author added, "Prevention strategies should emphasize adherence to guidelines intended for the general population such as smoking cessation, weight management, exercise and regular early detection exams.”

Study: Phone Communication with Peer Helps Diabetes Patients

Phone calls with a peer who is going through the same self-management challenges helped Diabetes patients manage their conditions, revealed a new research from the University of Michigan Health System which was based on a peer partnership established by the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health System and the University of Michigan Medical School.

Study

Each peer pair received initial brief training in peer communication skills. They were expected to communicate by telephone at least once a week about their mutual efforts to improve Diabetes control.

Results

The peer partner program produced lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels after six months among men with uncontrolled Diabetes. Results also showed that the activity improved blood sugar levels in Diabetes patients better than those who used traditional nurse care management services alone.

Comments from Study Lead Author Michele Heisler

"Our model was testing the hypothesis that a good way to activate patients was to give them some skills and encouragement to both help and be helped. Just as in education they say that the best way to learn something is to try to teach it."

"Our programme hoped to mobilize patients themselves to realize how much they themselves had to offer another person with Diabetes and enjoy the sense of meaning and pleasure that being needed and helping another can provide. That's why I think people did well – they were very motivated when they felt they were helping someone else."

The findings of the study are published in the October 19 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Study: Traditional Mediterranean Diet May Cut Risk for Diabetes in Older People

A traditional Mediterranean diet, heavy in olive oil and vegetables, may help older people lower their risk for adult onset Diabetes - that too without being worried about calories and weight, revealed a study by Spanish researchers led by Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain. A traditional Mediterranean diet, which comprises lot of vegetables, fibre-rich grains, legumes, fish and plant-based sources of unsaturated fat  (particularly olive oil and nuts), is basically low in red meat and high-fat dairy.

Study

More than 400 adults found that those following the traditional diet were less likely to develop Diabetes over four years than those instructed to follow a low-fat diet, according to findings published in the journal "Diabetes Care." 418 adults between the ages of 55 and 80 were followed; each of the subjects had at least three risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure or smoking. They were randomly assigned to one of three diets - a Mediterranean diet with emphasis on more consumption of olive oil, the same diet with a focus on getting unsaturated fats from nuts, and a diet cutting all types of fat. The groups were not asked to limit calories or get more exercise.

Results

After four years, 10 to 11 % of those in the two Mediterranean groups had developed Diabetes, compared to 18% of those in the low-fat diet group. When researchers accounted for a number of other factors, such as the participants' weight, smoking history and reported exercise levels, the Mediterranean diet itself was linked to 52% reduction in Diabetes risk compared to the low-fat diet.

According to Constance Brown- Riggs, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, the results did not indicate that exercise is not needed. She said, “Sometimes individuals can get hung up on one item, like olive oil. But what we're talking about here is an overall eating pattern, and an overall lifestyle."

How Does Physical Exercise Help Diabetes Patients?

Physical activities have many more benefits than just to help you lose weight. For Diabetes patients, it is no less than a boon, and has long-term and static advantages. 


Being active, you improve your cholesterol, reduce stress, prevent osteoporosis, lower your blood pressure and help youself sleep. This, in turn, boosts your immune system and gives you more energy. In addition, when you engage in physical activities, your muscles use the glucose for energy, reducing your blood glucose for energy, reducing your blood glucose levels. Exercise also increases your insulin sensitivity, which means you will need less insulin to get glucose for your cells. This way physical exercise helps Diabetes patients. 

Higher Type 2 Diabetes Rates in US than UK might be Attributed to Greater Level of Mid-section Fat

According to a study, excess fat around the mid-section is a health risk. The American and British researchers advised that studies of Type 2 Diabetes to concentrate on waist size along with traditional risk factors.

The study revealed that 16% and 14% of American men and women have Diabetes, respectively as compared 11% and 7% of men and women in England, respectively. To know the reason behind the difference, researchers analyzed studies about the health and lifestyles of people in the US and England. However, they found no association between higher Diabetes rates in the United States and conventional risk factors such as age, smoking, socioeconomic status, or BMI.

But, they observed that American men's waists were an average of 3 centimeters (1.5 inches) larger than those of men in England. And American women's waists were an average of 5 centimeters (2 inches) larger than those of women in England.

In addition, women in America were much more likely than women in England to have a higher risk of Diabetes because of their waist size (69% versus 56%), while American men had only a slightly higher waist size-related Diabetes risk than their counterparts in England.

The study co-author James P. Smith concluded, “Americans carry more fat around their middle sections than the English, and that was the single factor that explained most of the higher rates of diabetes seen in the United States, especially among American women. Waist size is the missing new risk factor we should be studying.”