Leicester experts praise translation of diabetes risk-testing tool
The translation of a tool to help people find out their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes has been described by Professor Kamlesh Khunti from the Diabetes Research Centre as a “breakthrough”.
The part NIHR-funded Leicester Risk Score enables people to find out their risk of developing the condition and is recommended by health watchdog NICE, used by Diabetes UK and has attracted more than 1.1 million online users.
Gujarati and Bangladeshi versions were officially launched at Leicester Diabetes Centre in Gwendolen Road, Leicester on Friday, January 27. They will now be used in minority communities across the East Midlands in the fight against Type 2 diabetes.
Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Director of NIHR CLAHRC East Midlands and Professor of Primary Care Diabetes & Vascular Medicine at our University spoke at the launch.
Professor Melanie Davies CBE, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at our University and co-founder of the Leicester Diabetes Centre, gave a presentation, while Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes, also addressed delegates.
Professor Khunti said: “This is a breakthrough in delivering support to the South Asian community in the fight against Type 2 diabetes.
“The condition is more common in South Asians because of their lifestyle in terms of their diet and lower physical activity levels combined with their potentially increased genetic risk.
“It’s important people know how likely they are to develop the condition as they can make lifestyle changes to halt the progress.”
Data based on age, sex, BMI, ethnicity, family history and use of blood pressure drugs are used to identify people who may be at high risk of Type 2 diabetes or are currently undiagnosed. Further versions in Urdu and Gurmukhi Panjabi due out soon.