The number of people with type 2 diabetes in the U.S. has tripled in the past 30 years. About 16 to 18 million American adults now have the disease, and the numbers continue to rise. Obese people have a five-fold greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than normal weight individuals. Type 2 diabetes is known to increase the risk for heart disease and other potentially deadly diseases. Now research reports that type 2 diabetes is like aging 15 years.
The study, published in The Lancet, investigated the association of age and the development of heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, analyzed data of about 9.5 million Canadians, including 379,003 with type 2 diabetes. The participants were followed for cardiovascular disease from April 1, 1994 to March 21, 2000.
The researchers found that there was a 15 year difference for participants with diabetes than for those without diabetes to be at a high risk for heart disease or death from any cause. Men with diabetes were at a high risk for heart disease at an average age of 49 years, compared to men without diabetes at age 62. Women with diabetes were at a high risk for heart disease at an average age of 56 years, compared to women without diabetes at age 69. Findings also revealed that diabetics at risk for heart disease died an average of 18 years earlier than non-diabetics.
"Diabetes confers an equivalent risk to aging 15 years," the study authors write. "However, in general, younger people with diabetes (age 40 or younger) do not seem to be at high risk of CVD. Age should be taken into account in targeting of risk reduction in people with diabetes."
REFERENCES:
1. Booth GL et al. Relation between age and cardiovascular disease in men and women with diabetes compared with non-diabetic people: a population-based retrospective cohort study. Lancet 2006 Jul 1;368(9529):29-36.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on October 2, 2006 02:34 PM
