Diabetics Failing to Lower Risk Factors

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More than half of adult diabetics are obese, and many more have

higher-than-recommended blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels

-- all factors that raise their risk of complications and death, a

government study found.

" The message needs to get out that doctors and patients need to do more, "

said lead author Cowie, a researcher at the National Institute of

Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

In diabetes, the body fails to produce or make adequate use of insulin, a

hormone that regulates blood sugar. Many cases can be controlled with

medication, diet and exercise, and patients must be meticulous about

monitoring their blood sugar.

Poorly controlled diabetes is a major cause of heart problems, kidney

failure, blindness and circulatory problems that lead to amputations. About

65 percent of adult diabetics will die of a heart attack or stroke.

Overall, only about 7 percent of adult diabetics studied had attained the

recommended levels for blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, the

review of health surveys from 1999-2000 and 1988-1994 found. The surveys

involved a total of about 1,700 participants.

The study appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.