Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease: How To Reduce The Risk?

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 15 Jun 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Changes in society are leading to a sedentary lifestyle and are causing a rise in the number of people with obesity and cardiovascular disease

This is consequently having a large impact on the health of the nation.

Research at the University of Leicester reports the outcome of combining the results from a number of individual randomized trials, which have compared two or more of the available interventions for people at risk of developing diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease.

This will allow scientists to identify the best way to reverse the diagnosis and therefore lower the risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

In addition, the combination of results from a number of individual observational studies is being updated in order to quantify the increase in risk of developing diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease in individuals with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) compared to those without.

Milena Castro, a PhD student working on this project, explained: "Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors leading to an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus and/or cardiovascular disease.

"Although there are different definitions of MetS, the diagnosis is generally confirmed if a person has three of the following five risk factors: (i) insulin resistance, (ii) raised blood pressure, (iii) raised triglycerides, (iv) high cholesterol and (v) increased waist circumference.

"The results from this work have important public health implications given the increasing number of people with MetS."

The research is being presented to the public at the University of Leicester on Thursday 26th June. The Festival of Postgraduate Research introduces employers and the public to the next generation of innovators and cutting-edge researchers, and gives postgraduate researchers the opportunity to explain the real world implications of their research to a wide ranging audience.

Milena Castro is a first year PhD student in the Department of Health Sciences, having previously gained a BSc in Statistics from Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), Costa Rica, and a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology from Universidad de La Frontera, Chile, by distance-learning whilst working as a researcher in the Statistics Department at UCR. Her research is concerned with the role that Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) plays in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and how identification of individuals with MetS together with appropriate treatment may help to reduce future ill-health. Milena is jointly funded by Sanofi-Aventis and UCR. By completing her PhD, Milena hopes that her findings will improve the quality of life of individuals worldwide, and would like to establish herself as a researcher in this field in the future.

Milena's supervisors are Professors Keith Abrams & Kamlesh Khunti, Department of Health Sciences, and Professor Melanie Davies, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester.

More information about the Festival of Postgraduate Research is available at: www.le.ac.uk/gradschool/festival

University Of Leicester

A member of the 1994 Group of universities that share a commitment to research excellence, high quality teaching and an outstanding student experience.

- Ranked top for student satisfaction in England (jointly with Oxford) among mainstream universities (average score of 4.4 out of 5 for overall satisfaction)

- Ranked as a Top 20 university by The Sunday Times University Guide, The Guardian University Guide and the UK Good University Guide

- One of just 23 UK universities to feature in world's top 200- Shanghai Jiao Tong International Index, 2005-07.

- Ranked in top 200 world universities by the THES (Times Higher Education Supplement)

- Short listed University of the Year in 2007 by The Sunday Times and Short listed Higher Education Institution of the Year - THES awards 2005 and 2006

- Ranked top 10 in England for research impact by The Guardian

- Students' Union of the Year award 2005, short listed 2006 and 2007

Founded in 1921, the University of Leicester has 19,000 students from 136 countries. Teaching in 18 subject areas has been graded Excellent by the Quality Assurance Agency- including 14 successive scores - a consistent run of success matched by just one other UK University. Leicester is world renowned for the invention of DNA Fingerprinting by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys and houses Europe's biggest academic Space Research Centre. 90% of staff are actively engaged in high quality research and 13 subject areas have been awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. The University's research grant income places it among the top 20 UK research universities. The University employs over 3,000 people, has an annual turnover of £184m, covers an estate of 94 hectares and is engaged in a £300m investment programme- among the biggest of any UK university.

University Of Leicester