Up to a third of diabetics won’t take their pills

A THIRD of diabetics prescribed the most common diabetes drug are not taking their medication because of side effects, researchers have warned.

Many of the 3.4million people in the UK who have Type 2 diabetes are prescribed the drug metformin. But University of Surrey researchers found 30 per cent of the doses are never taken due to side effects such as diarrhoea and flatulence.

Type 2 diabetes costs the NHS £8.8billion a year – a figure that could rise if diabetics do not take their pills, as they may suffer complications. The research, published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, found other diabetes drugs are also shunned. For example, 23 per cent of patients do not take their gliclazide dose.

Researcher Dr Andy McGovern said: ‘The importance of diabetes patients taking their prescribed medication cannot be underestimated. A failure to do so can lead to complications in their condition including eye disease and kidney damage.’ He urged patients not taking medication to discuss switching to another type.