GPs' diagnoses of type II diabetes rose by 50% in 10 years, study shows

The prevalence of type II diabetes has increased by more than 50% in a decade, a UK study of GP consultations indicates.

The number of patients with a diagnosis of high blood pressure has also increased by a third, and consultations for hypothyroidism are up too, shows the study in the British Journal of General Practice (2005;55:589-95).

The results should prompt concern, write the authors, from the Birmingham Research Unit of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The study, which shows how general practice is changing, is based on a comparison of data from the royal college's weekly returns service in 2001 and 1991. It is the first report in which the service has been used to provide data on prevalence and draws on returns from 38 general practices, covering a population of 326 000 in 2001.

“There is accumulating evidence of increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, and this study has disclosed an increase exceeding 50% in the last 10 years,” wrote the authors. “If this is indeed a lifestyle problem there is an urgent need to reverse the trend. Increasing publicity about obesity is to be welcomed, but these data show that fewer patients consulted specifically about this problem in 2001 than in 1991.”

The authors also raise concerns about the rise in prevalence of high blood pressure, pointing out that the number of diagnoses rose by a third. This is “an increase with considerable financial repercussions given the increased therapeutic options and much extended use of statins for those at increased cardiovascular risk,” the study says.

“The content of general practice has changed over the last 10 years,” the authors conclude. “Fewer people present with infections and injuries; cancer survival has increased (involving the GP in continuing care); diabetes, hypothyroidism and hypertension have increased; ischaemic heart disease is managed more aggressively.”