Women with type 1 diabetes are almost twice as likely to die from heart disease as men, according to the publication of an initial meta-analysis.
Women live longer than men. And yet, in type 1 diabetes, the reverse is true, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Type 1 diabetes typically begins in childhood or adolescence. This is the first meta-analysis on the impact of gender on mortality in type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes typically begins in childhood or adolescence. It represents 10% of all diabetes. This type of diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the pancreas can no longer make insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugar into energy. Patients with it live shorter lives than the general population.
26 studies
Rachel Huxley, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and her colleagues analyzed no less than 26 studies, published between 1966 and 2014, which included more than 200,000 men and women with diabetes. type 1. Of these patients, 15,000 died during the study follow-up periods. This is, according to the researchers, the first meta-analysis on the impact of gender on mortality in type 1 diabetes.
According to this analysis, women had a 37% higher risk of dying compared to men. This risk was even more marked for deaths linked to kidney disease (+ 44%) or cardiovascular disease (+ 86%).
The reasons
Why are women almost twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as men with type 1 diabetes? Because they have more difficulty controlling their blood sugar, say the researchers. However, poorly controlled blood sugar is known to be a factor in cardiovascular risk.
The researchers point out that young patients have hyperglycemia more often, despite greater use of insulin pumps. They also tend to have eating disorders and to underdose their insulin. Puberty also impairs insulin sensitivity.
In a commentary accompanying the article, David Simmons of the University of Western Sydney in Campbelltown, believes that reducing mortality in type 1 diabetes must go through additional funding allocated to patient care. But this must be done now, because the results will not be visible for 20 years, he concludes.
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