When it comes to researching diabetes, are our priorities in order?


According to a Duke University study, diabetes research emphasizes drug therapies more than preventive measures to combat the disease. The current research also tends to leave out older adults and children, who could benefit substantially from better disease management.


The findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, suggest that current research efforts may not sufficiently study diabetes prevention, management or therapeutic safety.


The authors of the study examined nearly 2,500 diabetes-related trials from 2007 to 2010. They found that of the 2,484 trials correlated with diabetes, 75 percent emphasized diabetes treatment while only 10 percent were conducted to examine preventive measures. Sixty-three percent of the trials involved a drug and 12 percent involved behavioral tests.


“It’s important that clinical trials enroll patients who are representative of populations affected by diabetes and its complications,” study researcher Dr. Jennifer Green, M.D, an associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine and a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, explained in a statement. “Our study is just a snapshot in time, but it can serve as a guide for where we need to focus attention and resources.”


The study also found that most clinical trials assessed small numbers of patients in a constrained number of locations. Many trials took only two years to complete and did not seem to exhibit a geographical mix of diabetes patients.


Type 2 diabetes risk is highest for adults and seniors, but the rate of the condition among kids and teens is also increasing. Yet the study found that older people were not included in 31 percent of the trials. In fact, older individuals were only the core of 1 percent of the trials. Furthermore, only 4 percent of the trials focused on diabetes in people age 18 and younger.


Green believes that excluding certain individuals from these trials means that the research can’t necessarily apply to them. “We really don’t understand how best to manage disease in these patients –- particularly among patients of advanced age," she said in the statement. "So the exclusion of them from most studies and the small number of trials that specifically enroll older individuals is problematic.”


The findings apply to the 25.8 million adults and children -- more than 8 percent of the U.S. population -- who are currently living with diabetes.





  • Eat Cheese


    Despite cheese's less-than-healthy reputation, a recent study in the <a href="http://www.ajcn.org/content/96/2/382.abstract" target="_hplink"><em>American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</em></a> showed that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/cheese-diabetes-type-2-risk-link-_n_1699374.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living" target="_hplink">cheese-eaters</a> actually have a 12 percent <em>lower</em> risk of the disease than their non cheese-eating counterparts.

    Plus, people who ate more cheese, fermented milk and yogurt in the study were also more likely to have a decreased diabetes risk than people who ate less of these foods, noted the researchers, who came from Oxford University and Imperial College London.

    The people who ate the most cheese in the study consumed more than 56 grams of it per day, while those who <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/07July/Pages/Can-a-diet-of-cheese-beat-diabetes.aspx" target="_hplink">ate the least cheese</a> in the study had fewer than 11 grams a day, the UK's NHS Choices reported.




  • Go Nuts


    Researchers from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center found that people who <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/15/-nuts-diabetes-heart-disease_n_1423911.html" target="_hplink">regularly eat tree nuts</a> (we're talking pistachios, walnuts, almonds and cashews) have a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, as well as heart disease and metabolic syndrome.

    Those researchers found that nut consumption is linked with lower levels of an inflammation marker called C-reactive protein (which is associated with heart disease and other chronic conditions) and higher levels of the "good" kind of cholesterol.

    In addition, people who regularly ate the tree nuts had lower body mass indexes (BMI, a ratio of height to weight) than people who didn't regularly eat nuts, the <em>Journal of the American College of Nutrition</em> study said.




  • Take A Walk


    Taking a few moments <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walking-diabetes-risk-steps_n_1637808.html" target="_hplink">for a walk each day</a> is enough to lower the risk of diabetes in high-risk people who don't regularly exercise, according to research in the journal <em>Diabetes Care</em>.

    University of Washington and University of Pittsburgh researchers found that people who walked the most in their study -- which included 1,826 people from Native American communities -- had a 29 percent lower risk of diabetes, compared with those who walked the least.

    But you didn't have to be a star walker in the study to reap the benefits -- the researchers found that 12 percent of people who took just 3,500 steps per day (there are about 2,000 steps in a mile) developed diabetes at the end of the study period, compared with 17 percent of people who <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/health-diabetes-idINL3E8HS5BR20120628" target="_hplink">walked the least</a> in the study, Reuters reported.




  • Nosh On Apples And Blueberries


    Apple, pear and blueberry eaters have lower risks of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the <em>American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</em>.

    The study was based on the diets of 200,000 people. HuffPost Canada reported that anthocyanins and fruits rich in anthocyanins were linked with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/19/apples-and-blueberries-diabetes_n_1362405.html" target="_hplink">lower diabetes risk</a>; flavanoids, however, were not.




  • Get Your Rest


    A <a href="http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2011/09/19/dc11-1093.abstract" target="_hplink"><em>Diabetes Care</em> study</a> from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia researchers showed that for obese teens, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/sleep-diabetes-obese-teens_n_972505.html" target="_hplink">getting enough shut-eye</a> is linked with a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

    Researchers conducted the study on 62 obese teens. They found that sleeping between seven-and-a-half and eight-and-a-half hours a night was linked with stable glucose levels. But sleeping more or less than that was <a href="http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/09/20/lack-of-sleep-in-obese-teens-can-lead-to-diabetes-study" target="_hplink">linked with higher glucose levels</a>, the <em>Ottawa Sun</em> reported.




  • Eat Your Greens


    Eating a <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20120427/9693/diabetes-type-2-fruit-vegetables-diet.htm" target="_hplink">range of fruits and veggies</a> could help to lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes, Medical Daily reported.

    The study, published in the <a href="http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2012/03/30/dc11-2388" target="_hplink">journal <em>Diabetes Care</em></a>, included 3,704 people. Researchers analyzed how many fruits and vegetables, as well as the variety of fruits and vegetables, they ate, along with their Type 2 diabetes status. They found that those who ate the most <em>kinds</em> of produce -- as well as just the most produce in general -- had the lowest diabetes risk, Medical Daily reported.




  • Moderate Alcohol Consumption (For Some)


    Drinking alcohol at a moderate level is linked with a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/24/us-health-carbs-idUSTRE7AN1TW20111124" target="_hplink">lower risk of Type 2 diabetes</a> for some people, according to <a href="http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2011/11/01/ajcn.111.023754" target="_hplink">an <em>American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</em> study</a>.

    Harvard researchers found that for women with refined carb-heavy diets, moderate alcohol consumption is linked with a decreased diabetes risk of 30 percent, compared with non-imbibing women who eat similar diets, Reuters reported.

    "If you eat a high carb diet without drinking alcohol, your risk of developing diabetes is increased by 30 percent," study researcher Frank Hu <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/24/us-health-carbs-idUSTRE7AN1TW20111124" target="_hplink">told Reuters</a>. "However, if you eat a high carb diet, but (drink) a moderate amount of alcohol, the increased risk is reduced."




  • Coffee Drinking


    Chinese researchers found earlier this year that coffee may stop a protein <a href="http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20120113/why-coffee-may-reduce-diabetes-risk?page=2" target="_hplink">linked with Type 2 diabetes</a> from building up, thereby possibly lowering the risk of the disease, WebMD reported.

    The research, published in the <em>Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry</em>, suggests that three particular compounds found in coffee are able to <a href="http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20120113/why-coffee-may-reduce-diabetes-risk?page=2" target="_hplink">have this beneficial effect</a>: caffeine, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid, according to WebMD.




  • Diabetes Risk Factors


    Learn how to live healthy with diabetes - What risk factors are there for diabetes?