Diabetes accelerates the start of severe multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) by 15 to 20 years and lowers life expectancy, a new study finds.
The study was published in Nature Medicine on Aug. 1.
Researchers used the National Bridges to Health Segmentation Dataset, which includes people registered with a general practitioner in England since 2014. Data came from over 46.7 million adults aged 20 and up, and was collected between April 2019 and March 2020. A model was then used to estimate the years people spend with diabetes and the years they lose in their lives based on 35 medical conditions.
Among all the participants, 7.8% were diagnosed with diabetes. Adults with diabetes showed a higher prevalence of MLTCs compared with those without the disease. At age 50, about one-third of the adults with diabetes had at least three MLTCs; usually this prevalence isn’t seen in the general population until about age 65 to 70.
Common comorbid conditions with diabetes included hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), osteoarthritis, depression, and asthma. Conditions varied by age; for instance, older adults were more likely to have hypertension and CHD, while younger folks were more likely to experience depression and asthma.
In terms of comorbidities related to diabetes, people with classic vascular-renal complications showed a late onset and fewer years lost, while those with mental health conditions and asthma showed an earlier onset and a longer period of life spent with the conditions. Men lost more years of life due to hypertension and CHD, while women were more significantly affected by depression, the data showed.
The median onset age for developing at least two conditions among participants was 66 to 67 years old. People with more conditions experienced earlier death and fewer years with MLTCs. Younger adults with MLTCs faced a greater impact on life years spent and lost to the conditions.
