Prisoners: Diabetes
(asked on 16th October 2015) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to manage the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the prison population; and if he will make a statement.
The most recent assessment of Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent) prevalence within prisons in England was published by Public Health England (PHE) in July 2014. This information is shown in the following table:
Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent) prevalence within prisons in England, July 2014: percentage of male and female prisoners, age 16 years and over with confirmed type 2 diabetes | |||||
Age range (years) | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-64 | 65+ |
Male | 0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 4.2 |
Female | 0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 (45-54) 2.1 (55-64) | 4.2 |
Source: Public Health England - Health and Justice Health Needs Assessment
Template: Adult Prisons, July 2014; prevalence of physical health problems
The Department estimates that up to 80% of Type 2 diabetes cases are largely preventable through behaviour interventions, including healthy dieting and increased physical activity. With NHS England and PHE, the Department is committed to ensuring that prisoners with Type 2 diabetes or at risk of developing this condition receive an equivalent level of health care to people in the community with this condition.
Patients over 12 years old with existing diabetes, including prisoners, should receive all National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended diabetes monitoring. These include blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and foot care surveillance. There is good evidence that achieving NICE recommended diabetes treatment targets reduces complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputation and premature death.