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Growing rates of diabetes cannot hide the fact that the UK is spending too much on diabetes drugs, academics have claimed.

Researchers at Cardiff University have revealed that £700m was spent by the UK NHS in 2008 on diabetes drugs, equating to 7 per cent of the UK budget for prescribing.

Writing in Diabetic Medicine journal, the team found that the number of prescriptions issued between 2000 and 2008 increased by 50 per cent, with costs rising by 104 per cent (allowing for inflation).

Although diabetes prevalence is increasing, with a confirmed 2.5m living with the condition in the UK, the researchers attribute the increased costs to a rise in the use of expensive therapies, such as rosiglitazone, and a rise in the use of insulin. This, the researchers claim, is evidence that GPs are not following guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which prescribes lifestyle changes before medication.

A spokesperson from the charity Diabetes UK said patients should always have access to the most appropriate treatment to manage their condition.

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