In a study from Res Consortium and elsewhere, scientists found that type 2 diabetes (T2D) takes a greater toll on the mortality and life expectancy of women, younger people and smokers.
A woman with T2D has a 60% increased chance of early death and will live five years less than the average woman in the general population.
Men with T2D, meanwhile, have a 44% increased risk of dying prematurely and live 4.5 years less.
Smoking shortens the life expectancy of people with T2D by ten years, while diagnosis at an earlier age (before the age of 65) reduces life expectancy by over eight years.
As many as 3.5 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with T2D, the most common form of the condition, with numbers expected to rise in future years.
It usually occurs in middle-aged and older people, but onset at a younger age is becoming more common globally.
People in England with diabetes are known to have a 50 to 70% higher risk of dying prematurely than individuals without diabetes.
The researchers worked out the life expectancy of T2D patients in Salford, UK (11,806 participants, 55% male, average age 66.2 years) over a ten-year period and compared this to life expectancy figures for the general population of the same age and sex.
They then looked at the effect of demographic and lifestyle factors on the mortality rate and life expectancy of individuals with T2D.
A total of 3,921 of the participants died (2,080 men) during the ten years studied, compared to an expected 2,135, giving a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 1.84.
This means that the risk of early death was 84% higher in people with diabetes than in the general population.
The increased risk of early death was greater for women with T2D than for men with T2D (96% vs. 74% greater risk of early death).
This surprised the researchers because T2D is generally assumed to have a greater effect on men’s health than on women’s.
When the results were adjusted to take into account levels of deprivation (Salford is one of the most disadvantaged areas of England), those with T2D still had a significantly higher risk of early death.
The results also suggest that T2D has a greater effect on the life expectancy of people diagnosed at a younger age.
Smoking had the largest effect on the mortality and life expectancy of people with T2D.
This study suggests that type 2 diabetes has a greater effect on the life expectancy of women, smokers and those diagnosed at a younger age.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about how bitter melon could benefit people with diabetes, and 10 worst foods to avoid if you have diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about how to protect your kidney health if you have diabetes, and results showing six vitamins that could help stop complications in diabetes.
The study was conducted by Mike Stedman et al and presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
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