A roadshow offering free diabetes risk assessment tests to Blackwood people revealed that almost two thirds of those tested were of medium to high risk of getting diabetes.
Of 112 people who were risk assessed in the Diabetes UK trailer in the town’s Market Square Retail Park on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, 67 were given letters of referral to their GPs, a referral rate of 60%.
“When they visit their doctors, these people will get advice on how to lower their risk by changing their lifestyle. Some will be offered immediate diagnostic tests for diabetes if they already have symptoms like thirst, weight loss and tiredness,” said Danielle Angell of Diabetes UK Cymru, who co-ordinated the volunteers staffing the Roadshow.
“These results reveal how widespread is the risk of developing diabetes in Blackwood and the hidden future toll the condition will take of the health of the town.”
Five point seven percent of the population of Caerphilly Borough has diabetes. Every year, at least 117 people in the county die prematurely because of the condition.
do you know if they are doing anymore free tests in the caerphilly town area in the near future