 |
NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, March 19, 2010
|
|
|
NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, March 19, 2010
|
Diabetes |
Life expectancy of diabetes03/24/2003 |
What is the life expectancy of diabetes?
You are asking an important question which looks simple but I am afraid the answer is quite complicated. To answer this question, we need to be clear on the differences among the types of diabetes and what the factors are that can shorten life expectancy in these different types.
Type 1 diabetes most often appears in young people, childhood to age 25, but can occur at older ages. Type 1 is the kind which results primarily from destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells in which people absolutely depend on insulin for survival.
Type 2 diabetes historically developed in adults in their 30`s or older but more recently we are seeing young people developing type 2 diabetes in childhood and teen years. Type 2 is the kind where there are abnormalities both in how the different tissues in the body respond to insulin (insulin resistance) and in how well the beta cells can compensate for that.
Before insulin was discovered, people with type 1 diabetes would frequently die very early after diagnosis due to a medical emergency called diabetic ketoacidosis. Now it is very uncommon for ketoacidosis to result in death. The major conditions that shorten peoples` lives with diabetes now are heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and infection. Rates of loss of life due to these causes are greater in people with diabetes than in those without diabetes. However, careful control of blood sugar, blood pressure and blood fats (cholesterol, triglycerides) can reduce the likelihood of these events.
Many of these improvements have occurred only recently and studies are now in progress to see how they affect lifespan. In summary, life expectancy has been shorter in people with diabetes than in those without diabetes. The exact extent depends on the type of diabetes, the age at which it is found and most likely on the extent to which the disease process is controlled. The scene is quite hopeful now for people with diabetes and is expected to improve over the next several years.
|
Robert M. Cohen, MD Associate Professor Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism Department of Internal Medicine College of Medicine University of Cincinnati |
|
|
|
Please note: only your personal physician or other health professional you consult can best advise you on matters of your health based on your medical history, your family medical history, your medication history, and how information from any of these databases may apply to you. Neither University of Cincinnati (NetWellness) nor any party involved in creating, producing or delivering this web site shall be liable for any damages arising out of access to or use of this web site, or any errors or omissions in the content thereof. (More) 
|