Almost 50 percent of the adults in the United States are suffering from obesity, a chronic progressive condition characterized by a person having excessive body fat.
As specified in a EurekAlert! report, people with type 1 diabetes need to undergo regular screening for obesity and chronic kidney disease.
Essentially, obesity is one of the causes of death in the US, and people suffering from the condition are at an increased risk of many severe illnesses and health conditions like diabetes, liver, and heart disease.
Furthermore, obesity is the leading risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, although it has not been seen before as a major complication in type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
The research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that in type 1 diabetes, the body fully stops producing insulin.
Meanwhile, in type 2 diabetes, the body generates insulin, although the cells do not react to insulin and they should, and later in the condition, frequently do not make sufficient insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is more likely to occur in those above 40 years old, overweight, and with a family history of diabetes, even though more and more younger individuals have developed type 2 diabetes.
According to Elizabeth Selvin, a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Ph.D., MPH and John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, their research revealed that obesity rates in adults who have type 1 diabetes are increasing, not to mention mirror the rates in the general adult populace.
Risk of Kidney Disease
Selvin explained their study also underscores the high risk of kidney disease in people who have type 1 diabetes.
Essentially, kidney disease is frequently regarded as more typical among those who have type 2 diabetes, although the data reveals adults suffering from type 1 diabetes certainly had a higher risk of kidney disease compared to those with type 2 diabetes.
The study authors analyzed data from more than 4,000 people who have type 1 diabetes and more than 130,000 people who have type 2 diabetes from Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health System from 2004 to 2018.
As a result, the researchers found 37 percent of people with type 1 diabetes were found to have obesity, and the prevalence of kidney disease was higher in those who have type 1 diabetes compared to those with type 2 diabetes following adjustment for age differences, 16 percent against nine percent in 2018, SciTechDaily specified in a similar report.
Selvin also explained their results emphasize the need for interventions to avoid weight gain and end-stage kidney disease in people who have type 1 diabetes.
About the Research
Other study authors include Jung-Im Shin, Amelia Wallace, and Morgan Grams from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University; Jodie Reider and Alex Chang from Geisinger in Denville, Pennsylvania; and Johns Hopkins University's Justin Echouffo Tcheugui.
Funding for the research comes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Lastly, the manuscript of the study The manuscript, Obesity and Chronic Kidney Disease in U.S. Adults with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, was published online before printing.
Related information about the link between diabetes and obesity is shown on Serious Science's YouTube video below:
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