Heart disease rates much higher for women with diabetes than men

Women with diabetes are about 44 percent more likely to have heart problems than men with diabetes, according to a new study published in Diabetologia.

More than 850,000 patients from 64 different studies were investigated, revealing that diabetes can exacerbate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) more so for females than males – which could partially have to do with women generally having higher fat stores, the study authors said.

The study also found that diabetic women are about 25 percent more likely to have a stroke than men with the condition, and they're three times more likely to develop CHD than non-diabetic women.

Gender-specific interventions could help

"If confirmed, the implementation of sex-specific interventions before diabetes becomes manifest – such as increased screening for prediabetes, especially in women, combined with more stringent follow-up of women at high risk for diabetes, such as women with a history of gestational diabetes – could have a substantial impact on the prevention of CHD," the authors wrote.

The team speculated that women experience metabolic deterioration faster than men, which might predispose them to diabetes earlier in life. Additionally, women have been historically under-treated for potential heart problems, they said.

"It is conceivable, therefore, that the diabetes-related excess risk of CHD in women may be due to a combination of both a greater deterioration in cardiovascular risk factor levels and a chronically elevated cardiovascular risk profile in the prediabetic state," they explained.

Source: Tech Times