Diabetes research highlights kidney disease risks and remission potential

Research presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting indicates that individuals newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may face a higher early risk of chronic kidney disease than heart failure. A study of approximately 1.62 million adults led by the University of Glasgow found that within five years of diagnosis, 19% of patients developed chronic kidney disease first, compared to 8.3% who developed heart failure first.

The study highlighted a strong link between kidney and heart health. Among those who developed kidney disease, 22.7% subsequently developed heart failure within five years. Conversely, 42% of those who developed heart failure went on to develop chronic kidney disease within five years. The combined risk of kidney disease, heart failure, and death reached 32.9% within five years and 55.1% by the ten-year mark.

In a separate finding from the same meeting, the RESET for Remission trial demonstrated that a combination of a low-calorie meal-replacement diet and supervised exercise could reverse early-onset type 2 diabetes. In a study of 96 participants, 54% achieved remission at 24 weeks, maintaining HbA1c levels below 6.5% without glucose-lowering medications, compared to a 4% remission rate in the usual care group.