Workplaces may help in diabetes prevention

‘We see risk factors early in the working career’ Tech may help hasten drug development

NEW YORK, Sept 30, (RTRS): People in certain occupations have a three-times-higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those in other jobs, probably because of lifestyle factors, a nationwide study in Sweden suggests.

Getting these workers to ramp up physical activity could be the first step to preventing the disease, the researchers say.

“The way to target the workplace is by finding employees at the highest risk,” study leader Dr Sofia Carlsson from the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm told Reuters Health by phone. “We wanted to go through all occupations in the entire Swedish population and see where the risks and prevalence of type 2 diabetes were highest.”

About 7% of Swedish adults, and 4.2% of the working population, have diabetes.

Carlsson’s team used population registries to identify more than 4.5 million Swedish citizens born between 1937 and 1979 who were gainfully employed between 2001 and 2013.

Rates of diabetes varied by profession, from 2.5% to 8.8% in men and from 1.2% to 6.4% in women, the researchers reported at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and in the journal Diabetologia.

Occupations

Among male professional drivers, for example, 8.8% had diabetes, as did 7.8% of manufacturing laborers but only 2.5% of computer scientists. Among women, prevalence was highest in manufacturing workers, at 6.4%, followed by kitchen assistants (5.5%) and cleaners (5.1%). It was lowest among specialist managers, at 1.2%.

Professional drivers, manufacturing workers and cleaners were at the highest risk, and the irregular hours and shifts, stress and sleeping time associated with these occupations could be the cause, Carlsson said.

“We see risk factors early in the TRENTON, NJ, Sept 30, (AP): Drugmakers have embraced artificial intelligence – using computers to analyze reams of data and then make predictions or recommendations.

Germany’s Bayer has been testing how the technology can help diagnose complex or rare conditions, hasten drug development and more.

The aspirin-creator has partnered with startups and other tech companies to develop software and apps to speed diagnosis and guide treatment. The company is working with hospitals, academic researchers and others to compile everything the AI software needs to “learn” before it analyzes a patient’s condition. That includes information on disease causes, symptoms and progression, plus many past patients’ test results, doctor reports and scanned images.

The Associated Press recently interviewed Angeli Moeller, who heads artificial intelligence projects across Bayer’s pharmaceutical business. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

working career, and this could be targeted through workplace intervention,” she added.

While association is not the same as causation, the research provides direction for next steps, said Dr Ronald Tamler, Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, who was not involved in the study. “Is there a causative effect in certain occupations and if so, how can we mitigate that?”

Carlsson pointed to attempts in the

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Why use partners for developing AI software and apps?

These areas are so new and so exploratory that you just wouldn’t get there on time alone. We partner with companies that have that expertise and can accelerate development. We believe we will save a couple years. How is Bayer using AI? We’re looking at cardiovascular disease, oncology and women’s health. Our focus is on diagnosis but also on digital therapeutics, where you’re using the technology to recommend a patient make a change in behavior to improve their health, or you’re recommending medication changes.

How would Bayer and other drugmakers working on AI software get hospitals or insurers to pay for using it?

We would show that the software does what it says. It becomes cost effective and attractive for them when we can prove the improved outcomes with our app.

How are you using AI to improve design and patient testing of experimental drugs?

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Q: US to implement diabetes prevention programs at work.

“A randomized clinical trial in the US in the early 2000s showed lifestyle modification counseling reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by around half,” she said. And it didn’t ask much from the people with diabetes: “A 5% reduction in weight, more physical activity, and a 70-minute brisk walk every day,” Carlsson said.

The findings are significant for the US population, too, where according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 10 people

When developing a new drug, we can model how it will behave in a cell in combination with other drugs the patients might be taking. We’re looking at how we can identify the right patients and sites to run our clinical trials. We would be able to run shorter studies and show where the medication is the right one for those patients earlier.

How might this eventually affect doctors and patients?

Everything we’re doing in our artificial intelligence program is for decision support, because we want the doctor to make the decision on treatment. In the doctor’s office, you would have a computer dashboard showing recommendations, but the really high-powered computing would happen somewhere else. What’s most important for patients is that they’re still in control of their treatment.

How long will it be before this is helping average patients?

It’s probably going to take two years before it really hits mainstream medical practice. Getting the technology to the patient is still the hard part.

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In earlier US studies, professional drivers and shift workers were more likely to have diabetes.

“In the US too, people with lower socioeconomic status, less physical activity, poor access to healthcare and lower health literacy are at greater risk,” Tamler said.

“Ultimately, diabetes is a massive cost driver in healthcare and a considerable source of absenteeism at work,” Tamler said, adding the current study offers a chance for employers to start preventive programs.