For the first time, guidelines have been devised for blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels in patients with type I diabetes, a group that has more than twice the risk of developing cardiovascular disease than the general population. If a patient cannot achieve the new goals through diet and exercise, medications would be appropriate, even in young adults, said Dr. Trevor Orchard of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. About five percent to 10 percent of the country's 16 million diabetic patients have the type I form, in which the pancreatic cells that make insulin are destroyed.
Patients have to inject insulin to control their blood sugars.
Orchard acknowledged that meeting another set of goals could be hard for some patients. But I think it is one that the evidence suggests is well worth taking. The Pittsburgh findings are being reported in the June issue of the journal Diabetes Care. I patients in 16 medical centers and will be reviewing their data to see if it validates the Pittsburgh findings, Orchard added. I patients more susceptible not only to cardiovascular disease, but also to eye, kidney and nerve complications.