Growing increase in pre-diabetes
There has been a rapid increase in pre-diabetes since 2003, according to a report published in BMJ Open.
Blood samples collected from individuals aged 16 or over for the Health Survey England in the years 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011 were analysed to report the prevalence of pre-diabetes. All of the samples were taken from people without previously diagnosed diabetes.
The prevalence rate of pre-diabetes increased from 11.6 per cent in 2003 to 35.3 per cent in 2001.
Between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of people with pre-diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes according to the researchers. This risk will continue to increase if there is not a concerted effort to tackle it, they said.
Barbara Young, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, says: 'Programmes such as the NHS Health Check are already doing an important job in assessing people's risk, by measuring weight and waist, as well as looking at family history and ethnicity. But at the moment not everyone who is eligible for this check is getting one and we need this to change.'
Pre-diabetes is a high-risk state for developing diabetes and associated complications. People with pre-diabetes have higher blood sugar levels than is recommended.
The full report can be found at: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/6/e005002
Positive results of child flu pilot
Initial results of the uptake and impact of the child flu vaccine pilot programme are encouraging, and were published in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's journal.
Eurosurveillance (5 June issue) published the results of the pilots that took place in Bury, Cumbria, Gateshead, Leicester City, East Leicestershire and Rutland, and the London boroughs of Havering, Newham, and South East Essex.
A total of 104,792 primary aged children received at least one dose of a nasal spray flu vaccine, or a needle vaccine for those unable to receive the nasal spray vaccine. This represented an overall uptake of 52.5 per cent.
These early results suggested a direct programme impact with reductions seen in a range of flu indicators.
In 2012 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised extending the national flu immunisation programme to all children from the age of two to less than 17 years.
As a first step in the extension of the programme last year all children aged two and three years were offered the flu vaccination, while children aged between four and 11 years old were vaccinated in the pilot areas in 2013/14.
From September 2014 vaccination against flu will be offered to all children aged two to four years of age.
The pilots for primary school children established in 2013/14 will continue and a number of additional pilots for children aged 11 to 12 will begin in some areas.
The full report can be found here: www.eurosurveillance.org
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Uptake of shingles vaccine improves
The shingles vaccination programme for 70 and 79-year-olds has seen an increase in uptake, data published by Public Health England has shown.
It shows that since January 2014 there has been an increase in uptake of 8.2 per cent of 70-year-olds and 7.6 per cent of 79-year-olds.
As of May this year, 54.8 per cent and 53.1 per cent, respectively, had been vaccinated.
Mary Ramsay, PHE's head of immunisation, said: 'A key action for practice nurses and GPs to improve uptake would be to opportunistically offer immunisation to patients eligible for this year's programme when they attend the surgery for other reasons, if they have not been immunised yet.'
Patients in the target age groups can be encouraged to participate before the August cut off date.