Diabetes ‘secrecy’ health warning

Almost a million people in Britain could be damaging their health by keeping their diabetes a secret, a charity has warned.

A survey for Diabetes UK suggests around one in three (34 per cent) with the condition keep their illness quiet, or have done so in the past.

Many of those miss insulin injections or delay testing their blood glucose levels to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

This puts them at higher risk of deadly complications, including coma, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputation.

Some 2.8 million people have diabetes in the UK and another 850,000 are thought to have the condition without knowing it.

One person is diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes and cases are rising, fuelled by increasing numbers of overweight and obese people.

The poll, to mark Diabetes Week, was carried out among almost 4,000 diabetics.

It found that younger people were more likely to keep diabetes a secret, with 48 per cent of those aged 17 to 21 saying they had done so. Almost half (49 per cent) of all age groups said not talking about diabetes had affected how they manage their condition, while 39 per cent said it had affected their physical health or their emotions.

More than one in four (27 per cent) said they had kept their condition a secret for fear of discrimination or bullying.

Of those who kept their diabetes a secret, they were more likely to do so at work (59 per cent) but more than half (56 per cent) also kept it a secret from their friends.

Reasons included not wanting diabetes to affect employment and worrying that others think the condition is always the result of an unhealthy diet.

Baroness Barbara Young, chief executive officer at Diabetes UK, said: “We have to ask why so many people with diabetes keep it a secret.

“Learning to live with and managing diabetes is challenging enough without the physical and psychological impact of such a burden.

“It is hugely concerning that the health and well-being of so many people could be at risk as a result of discrimination or prejudice.”