|
 “Most individuals with diabetes are familiar with the classical
complications affecting eyes, kidneys, feet and cardiovascular
system, but this study highlights another impact, especially about
the number of disability free years which were lost,” said senior
author Dianna J. Magliano of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
and Monash University in Melbourne.
Based on Australian diabetes studies, disability surveys and the
national death index, the researchers estimated that 50-year old men
and women with diabetes had a life expectancy of 30 years and almost
34 years, respectively – or about three years less than for men and
women without diabetes.
“Disability” meant having at least one of 17 limitations or
impairments, for at least six months, that restricts everyday
activities like bathing or getting into or out of bed.
Fifty-year-olds with diabetes could expect an average of about 13
years of disability-free life, eight or nine years less than men and
women without diabetes, as reported in Diabetologia.
Women age 50 with diabetes would spend more of their remaining years
living with disability than men with diabetes, the researchers
estimated.
“The differential impact of diabetes by sex on life expectancy
difference can be explained largely by the fact that women with
diabetes had longer life expectancy and significantly higher
prevalence of disability, which is consistent with previously
reported data for women in general,” Magliano said.
Although people with diabetes are living longer now than in the
past, diabetes still carries a large risk of other health problems,
said Dr. Ed Gregg of the Division of Diabetes Translation at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was not part of the
new study.
But, he said, there are wide variations among individuals.
“Many people develop diabetes and manage it really successfully,
have a life expectancy as long as anyone, based on how well they are
able to manage it and work with their health system,” Gregg told
Reuters Health by phone.
[to top of second column] |
“Diabetes shortens life expectancy through the development of
diabetes complications such as retinopathy, kidney disease, and
cardiovascular disease,” Magliano told Reuters Health by email. “We
believe the development of these complications may also influence
the development of disability, although the mechanisms are not so
clear yet.”
Managing blood sugar, blood pressure and lipids should be reasonable
steps to maximize healthy years of life, she said.
“Another important intervention is physical activity, which is of
proven value in slowing the decline of physical function, and should
be strongly recommended in older people with diabetes, even if
obesity and poor glycemic control are not a problem,” Magliano said.
Helping individuals with diabetes meet recommended preventive care
guidelines and maintain an active lifestyle should reduce years
lived with disability, Gregg said.
“The other thing that we can do in clinical settings is try to
identify people at high risk for diabetes and help them make
lifestyle changes,” since type 2 diabetes is largely preventable in
the first place, he said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1XFe5iE Diabetologia, online April 14, 2016.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
