
Our work has assessed the impact of exercise interventions on PCOS, and attempts to also understand the barriers to exercise and the cardiovascular risks associated with women with PCOS who do not get enough physical activity. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition that affects how a woman's ovaries work and which is assopciated with unpleasant side effectsm, including obesity and metabolic disturbance. The presence of frailty in a setting of diabetes increases the level of disability and leads to poorer clinical outcomes. Diabetes and frailty may be causally related and operate through each of the key components of the frailty phenotype or via associated medical co-morbidities. Estimates suggest that as many as 8.5% of women and 4.5% of men known as ‘young-old’ (65-74) in the UK can be classified as being frail. Frailty in type 2 diabetesįunctional decline associated with the ageing process and the onset of frailty is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK. By better understanding the mechanisms of T2DMY and by employing interventions we hope to improve the lives of people with this condition. Our research on a cohort of T2DMY in the Birmingham area has shown that this is a more aggressiove form of the condition, with comorbidities and diabetes-related issues occuring earlier and with increasesd severity. Increasing numbers of young people (aged <40 at point of diagnosis) are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Currently, our work focuses on the impact that adipokines have on glucose homeostaisis and cardiovascular risk.

My research into adipokines (factors released from body fat) has continued since my PhD. My research includes investigating the effect that aged cells have on cells that regulate nutrient homeostasis (muscle cells, adipocytes and liver cells) and studying the impact that metabolic disease such as diabetes have on the ageing process. Ageing and metabolism are intrinsically linked.
