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A New Mortality Risk Calculator For Diabetes

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The state of Texas has more than its share of the diabetes epidemic. An estimated 9.7% of Texans have diabetes, compared to the national average of 8.3%.

Researchers have known that having diabetes raises a person's risk of dying, but now there is a simple tool to calculate which diabetic patients are at the greatest risk.

The state of Texas has more than its share of the diabetes epidemic. An estimated 9.7% of Texans have diabetes -- the national average is  8.3%, according to theAmerican Diabetes Association

A new calculator for patients with type 2 diabetes places patients into low, medium, or high risk of dying from any cause within two years. Researchers from Italy developed the tool, which uses values such as age, body mass index (BMI), diastolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol to help a physician determine whether someone is at a high risk of dying. 

According to Medscape News, the doctors say the calculator will help physicians make decisions on which patients should be more closely monitored and which ones are candidates for more aggressive treatments. 

Lauren Silverman was the Health, Science & Technology reporter/blogger at KERA News. She was also the primary backup host for KERA’s Think and the statewide newsmagazine  Texas Standard. In 2016, Lauren was recognized as Texas Health Journalist of the Year by the Texas Medical Association. She was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that covered Ebola for NPR in 2014. She also hosted "Surviving Ebola," a special that won Best Long Documentary honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). And she's won a number of regional awards, including an honorable mention for Edward R. Murrow award (for her project “The Broken Hip”), as well as the Texas Veterans Commission’s Excellence in Media Awards in the radio category.