Patients with diabetes 'wait months for information'

Some patients who are newly diagnosed with diabetes feel as though they have been "left in the dark" as they have to wait months to receive information about the condition.

According to new research published online in the journal Primary Health Care Research & Development, many individuals affected by the condition do not know what they can and cannot eat.

The study, which was conducted at Queen's University Belfast, found patients received little or no information about what to eat while they waited for a referral to a diabetes education programme.

Dr Michelle McKinley, who led the research, said: "Patients with type 2 diabetes indicated that there was sometimes a delay between diagnosis and receiving advice about how to self-manage their diabetes."

She added it is therefore not a surprise so many respondents said they felt as they were "on their own" at this time.

According to a study recently conducted by researcher Amy Huebschmann of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, exercise may be able to ease premature cardiovascular ageing caused by type 2 diabetes.

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