An event to launch the translation of a Type 2 diabetes risk assessment tool to help members of the South Asian community assess their risk of developing the condition will take place in Nottingham today.
The NIHR-supported 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.
The latest version has been translated in Gurmukhi Punjabi and will be launched at the Indian Community Centre Association, Hucknall Road, Nottingham, on Thursday, April 12.
The event supported by the AWAAZ ‘Voice’ for ALL BME Communities charity and the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwa, Sikh worship centre in Nottingham Road, Nottingham will include a presentation on how the risk score was developed and how people can best support members of their community.
The further translation is a significant step in providing members of the local community, organisations and groups, the facts about the condition, Professor Kamlesh Khunti
Together with existing Gujarati and Bangladeshi versions, they will 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 the University of Leicester will speak at the free event, taking place between 10am and 12:30pm, followed by lunch.
He said: “The launch is part of the Centre for BME Heath’s commitment to delivering support to BME communities including the South Asian community in the fight against Type 2 diabetes. The further translation is a significant step in providing members of the local community, organisations and groups, the facts about the condition, which 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.”
Members of the South Asian community are now being urged to make use of the risk score to find out how likely they are to develop the condition – or to see if they already have it.
Professor Khunti added: “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.
The project to translate the risk score was part funded by the National Institute for Health Research’s Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) East Midlands.
NIHR CLAHRC East Midlands is a partnership of regional health services, universities and industry which turns research into cost-saving and high-quality care through cutting-edge innovation.
The work has been supported by the Centre for BME Health, which is working to reduce ethnic health inequality in the region by sharing resources and promoting research.
Type 2 diabetes is a serious long term condition where the body cannot keep blood glucose levels within a healthy range and can cause devastating complications.
The Centre for BME Health is working to reduce health inequality in the region by sharing resources and promoting research. It is supported by the National Institute for Health Research’s Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East Midlands, a partnership of regional health services, universities and industry which turns research into cost-saving and high-quality care through cutting-edge innovation.
