Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes may affect men and women differently: Study

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) While both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes raise the risk of heart disease and death, the effect is pronounced differently in men and women, according to a study.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide, and individuals with T1D or T2D are at greater risk compared to the general population.

Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden showed that younger men with T2D have worse mortality and CVD outcomes than those with T1D.

However, for women of all ages, almost all outcomes are worse for T1D than for T2D.

"Women with Type 1 diabetes often develop the disease at a young age, so they live with it longer, which increases their lifetime risk of heart and blood vessel problems. They may also lose some of the natural protection women usually have against heart disease, and often receive less aggressive treatment for cardiovascular disease than men,” said Dr. Vagia Patsoukaki, from the varsity.

"In contrast, younger men with type 2 diabetes tend to have more risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure, and unhealthy lifestyles. Their diabetes is often more aggressive, and they may be diagnosed later, making their early outcomes worse. Even though being female is generally protective, in T1D that protection is weaker, possibly due to longer exposure to high blood sugar," Patsoukaki added.

The study included 404,026 diabetes patients aged 18-84 years. Of these 38,351 had T1D, and 365,675 had T2D, while 233,858 were males, and 170,168 were females.

Males with T2D under 50 years had a 51 per cent higher risk of all CVD, a 2.4 times increased risk of heart attack, and a 2.2 times increased risk of heart failure than T1D males.

However, women across all ages combined were observed for CV mortality (34 per cent lower) and all-cause mortality (19 per cent lower) for women with T2D than T1D, significantly for those over 50 years of age.

The findings will be presented at the forthcoming Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria.

--IANS

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