Experts aren't sure why, but say better treatment and support needed for both sexes
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Women with type 1 diabetes have a nearly 40 percent greater risk of dying from any cause and more than double the risk of dying from heart disease than men with type 1 diabetes, Australian researchers report.
In an analysis of 26 studies that included more than 200,000 people, researchers found that women with type 1 diabetes had a 37 percent higher risk of dying from stroke compared to men with type 1 diabetes. The researchers also found that women with type 1 diabetes had a 44 percent greater risk of dying from kidney disease than men with type 1 diabetes.
"Type 1 diabetes increases the risk of premature death in both women and men, but type 1 diabetes is much more deadly for women than men with the condition," said lead researcher Rachel Huxley, director of the Queensland Clinical Trials and Biostatistics Center at the University of Queensland in Herston, Australia.
The report was published in the Feb. 6 online edition of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Type 1 diabetes an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone needed to convert sugars, starches and other foods into energy. The worldwide incidence of type 1 diabetes in children 14 and younger has risen by 3 percent every year since 1989. In the United States, about 15,000 children and 15,000 adults are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year, according to the researchers.
Because people with type 1 diabetes don't produce their own insulin, they must replace the hormone through multiple daily injections or with an insulin pump that has a tiny tube inserted underneath the skin to deliver the insulin.
However, insulin needs change constantly, depending on foods eaten, activity levels and even stress. This makes it difficult to get the dose just right. When too little insulin is given, blood sugar levels rise. Over time, this can cause dangerous complications, such as an increased risk of heart disease.
But, too much insulin can cause low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which can quickly cause a number of uncomfortable symptoms, such as sweating, nausea, irritability and confusion. Left untreated, hypoglycemia can lead to unconsciousness and even death, according to JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).
source : Type 1 Diabetes More Deadly for Women Than Men, Study Finds
