4
NEWS
Fitbit heart
function?
Identifying T1 in children earlier
One in four children and young adults aren't diagnosed with T1D until they
have potentially fatal diabetic ketoacidosis - when the body doesn't have
enough insulin to allow blood sugar into cells for use as energy.
Thanks to funding from Diabetes UK, a team led by Dr Julia Townson of
Cardiff University has developed a predictive tool using artificial intelligence
that looked through health data from more than a million children to
identify patterns that could help identify T1D much earlier. Patterns such
as urinary infections or bedwetting, family history of Type 1 diabetes and
being prescribed certain antibiotics, were found to be associated with the
condition.
On average, the new tool would have allowed children to be diagnosed -
and started on life-saving insulin therapy - 11 days earlier which could be the
difference between life and death, according to results from studies of the
tool presented at Diabetes UK's 2022 Professional Conference.
Beth Baldwin from Cardiff whose 13-year-old son Peter died from
undiagnosed diabetes in 2015, who has campaigned tirelessly for more
innovation and T1D awareness, has welcomed the project. 'Life without Peter
is incredibly hard, but if our work stops even one family going through the
experience of losing a child to Type 1 diabetes, it will have been worth it,'
she said.
Currently, the best way to spot early Type 1 diabetes is to be aware of its
four most common symptoms: frequent weeing or bedwetting in a previously
dry child, excessive thirst, or fatigue and unexplained weight loss.
Is all weight loss good?
It is known that obesity increases the risk of developing T2D but one in ten
sufferers are not obese or overweight. Results from a study by Professor
Roy Taylor of Newcastle University also presented at the 2022 Professional
Conference, showed that an average 8% weight loss in these people, could
also put the the condition into remission. The project followed the earlier
Counterpoint study, which showed that losing fat from inside the pancreas
and liver - the two key organs involved in blood sugar control - was key
to remission from T2D. Taylor and his team found that putting people on
an strict 800 calorie a day diet when they were at or just above the healthy
body mass index limit of 27 for two to four weeks, followed by a four to six
week weight maintenance diet, was enough to do the trick, and most of the
20-strong study group were still slimmer a year later.
Google has asked the American Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) which
regulates medical devices, to approve
a new feature for its wristwatch-style
Fitbit monitors which would them
to record heart rhythm continuously
in the background to check for signs
of atrial fibrillation, the irregular
heartbeat which can affect people
with T2D and leads to increased risk
of stroke. Apple Watches already
have a feature which allow them to
do this. Google's application to the
FDA follows a study two years ago
involving 455,000 Fitbit users who
were invited to try out the modified
devices. Almost one in seven of the
volunteers was aged over 65 and
therefore at higher risk of irregular
heart beat. About 1% of people, or
just over 4,700 ¬- including about 4%
of those over 65 - received an alert
from their Fitbit device and were
then offered a telehealth consultation
and a wearable electrocardiogram
patch for them to confirm the
Fitbit diagnosis.
More than 1,000 participants took
up this offer and of those around
one in three received a confirmed
positive diagnosis for atrial
fibrillation. However, that means two
out of three of the Fitbit's diagnoses
were wrong. Incorrect alerts could
not only raise needless anxiety,
but also lead to people making
doctors' appointments which are
not necessary.