A new study has revealed that there is an increasing evidence of association between type 2 diabetes and an individual's risk of contracting cancer or dying from the disease. The researchers have determined the relationship between the two conditions across cohort studies in 7 Asian countries.
According to Medical Xpress, most studies regarding the association of type 2 diabetes and cancer death risk was already conducted in Western populations. However, since the prevalence of diabetes is increasing across Asia, it is very important to conduct the same study. Previous studies has suggested that at any given body mass index (BMI), Asians are more susceptible in developing insulin resistance.
The data from this new study was taken at Asia Cohort Consortium which accounts for 29 cohort studies. The researchers have extracted 19 cohorts resulting in a study population of 658,611 East Asians and 112,686 from South Asian countries. There were 37,343 cancer deaths from participants' average age of 53.9 in a mean follow-up time of 12.7 years.
As reported by WebMD, the common form of diabetes among all cases is the type 2 diabetes. In United States, there are about 27 million people with the condition. Diabetes is a life-long disease that affects the sugar metabolism in the body. Cancer, on the other hand, is a condition that involves malignant cells that scatters throughout the body.
From the results of the study, the authors have found that having type 2 diabetes leads to 26 percent increase in the risk of dying from any form of cancer. This assumption considers other factors such as BMI, alcohol consumption and smoking. Furthermore, compared to the study conducted in western countries, they also found similar specific cancers associated with type 2 diabetes.
The strongest association of type 2 diabetes is with specific cancers of liver, pancreas, bile duct, colorectal and breast. Considering different studies from diverse populations, type 2 diabetes should be considered risk factors for cancers in Asians. The findings are very important in the modifications of lifestyle among Asian to prevent diabetes thus, decreasing the risk of cancer.
