Women With Type 1 Diabetes Face Earlier Death Risk Than Men

According to new research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, women with type 1 diabetes have a 40 percent higher death risk than men with the same condition.

The study found that diabetic women are twice as likely to die from heart disease compared to diabetic men.

“On average, women live longer than men," said lead author Rachel Huxley from The University of Queensland in Australia. "But, our findings show that in women with type 1 diabetes, this ‘female protection’ seems to be lost and excess deaths in women with type 1 diabetes are higher than in men with the disease.”

Poorer glycemic control a probable factor

The study was an analysis of 26 other studies that included a total of 214,114 men and women with type 1 diabetes.

"While a better understanding of racial and ethnic differences in regards to diabetes risk is beginning to emerge, the same amount of attention should be paid to gender differences," said Huxley.

The research also found that women with type 1 diabetes are also more likely to have strokes, cardiovascular disease and fatal kidney disease.

Factors like poor glycemic control or problems with insulin management could explain why women with diabetes face a higher death risk than men.

"The marked difference between the sexes for vascular-related disease is likely to have profound clinical implications for how women with type 1 diabetes are treated and managed throughout their lives," said Huxley.

Source: The Lancet

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