Women with type 2 diabetes have 60% increased chance of early death

Women in the UK with type 2 diabetes have a 60% increased risk of an early death and will live five years less than the average woman in the general population, early research suggests.

Scientists have also found that men with the disease have a 44% increased risk of dying prematurely and live 4.5 years less.

Results also suggest that smoking shortens the life expectancy of people with type 2 diabetes by 10 years, while diagnosis at a younger age cuts life expectancy by over eight years.

The findings, presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, Sweden, are based on a cohort of nearly 12,000 patients at the Salford Royal Hospital in Salford.

“A woman with type 2 diabetes, for example, might live five years less than the average woman in the general population, while someone diagnosed at a younger age might lose eight years of life expectancy.

“It is vital that the groups at the highest risk are made aware of not just the increased risk that they face but also the size of the risk."

“Doing so may make the health advice they are given seem more relevant and so help them make changes that can improve their quality – and length – of life.”

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Source: The Independent, 21 September 2022