Men have a greater risk of major health effects from type 1 and 2 diabetes compared to women, according to a new study.
In the study, which was published Thursday in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, researchers revealed that men had higher rates of cardiovascular disease; leg, foot and kidney complications; and the sight-threatening eye disease diabetic retinopathy, whether or not they had diabetes for more or less than 10 years.
Researchers viewed survey responses from 25,713 people over age 45 with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. About half of the people were between 60 and 74 years old, and 57% were men. Of the people, 39% of the men were overweight and had heart disease, compared to 29% of the women.
Although a similar proportion of men and women were current smokers, a higher proportion of men were ex-smokers: 51% vs 29% of the women.
Of the 19,277 people with diabetes whose age was recorded at their diagnosis, 58% had been living with the disease for less than a decade and 42% had it for 10 or more years. Men had higher rates of, and risks for, diabetes complications.
Over a 10-year span, 44% of the men (and 31% of women) had a cardiovascular disease complication while 57% (61% of women) had eye complications. Similarly, 25% of the men and 18% of women had leg/foot complications, and 35% of men and 25% of women had kidney complications. Men were 51% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women, 47% more likely to have leg and foot complications, and 55% more likely to have kidney complications.
There was little difference in the overall risk of eye complications between both sexes, as men had a 14% higher risk of diabetic retinopathy.
Chronic kidney disease treatment disparities
Another study released this week found that women with chronic kidney disease (CKD) typically are undertreated in primary care settings. Published Thursday in JAMA, the study included patients at 15 practices affiliated with an academic medical center in Boston. Researchers looked at patient data from those aged 18 years or older with primary care visits between March 1, 2018, and March 1, 2019, and stage 3 or 4 CKD.
Compared with males, a greater proportion of female patients were older, from racial and ethnic minority groups, non-English speakers, and had higher mean PCP visits per year. Females experienced worse care than males across outcomes including biomarker levels, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) prescription, blood pressure control and nephrology referral. CKD is common in people with diabetes.
“These findings align with international studies showing that females are less likely to receive CKD disease monitoring, medication prescribing and nephrology referral,” the authors wrote.
