HAVING diabetes raises the risk of cancer – and it’s worse for women.
A major new study from the George Institute for Global Health involving 20 million people found having diabetes significantly raises the risk of developing cancer.
It found women with diabetes were 27 per cent more likely to develop cancer than women without the condition. For men, the risk was 19 per cent higher.
The study’s lead author Toshiaki Ohkuma said the link between diabetes and the risk of developing cancer was now firmly established.
“We have also demonstrated for the first time that women with diabetes are more likely to develop any form of cancer, and have a significantly higher chance of developing kidney, oral and stomach cancers and leukaemia,” Dr Ohkuma said.
“The number of people with diabetes has doubled globally in the last 30 years, but we still have much to learn about the condition.”
Diabetes affects more than 415 million people worldwide, with five million deaths every year. In Australia, it’s the fastest growing chronic condition with 208 people developing the disease every day.
It is believed that heightened blood glucose may have cancer-causing effects by leading to DNA damage.
The study findings were published in Diabetologia.
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