A new study suggests that men with type 1 diabetes may lose around 11 years of their life and women suffering from the disease can lose up to 13 years of their life, when compared to people without the disease.
The study, led by Dr. Helen Colhoun, a clinical professor at the University of Dundee School of Medicine, suggests that diabetes usually has an impact on an individual's heart health, which causes the shortened life spans. Researchers also found that patients under the age of 50 years are at a higher risk of death if they do not manage the disease properly. Some of the most common causes of death among these patients are low blood sugar and ketoacidosis, which is a complication that arises from low blood sugar.
"These conditions really reflect the day-to-day challenge that people with type 1 diabetes continue to face, how to get the right amount of insulin delivered at the right time to deal with your blood sugar levels," Colhoun says.
Even patients who took good care of the disease and whose kidney function was well preserved also demonstrated a reduced life expectancy of up to eight years.
"Overall, the largest percentage of the estimated loss in life expectancy was related to ischemic heart disease, but death from diabetic coma or the condition ketoacidosis was associated with the largest percentage of the estimated loss occurring before age 50 years."
While the results of this study may be disheartened to sufferers of the disease, it is important to note that the life expectancy in this study shows a much narrower gap compared to past studies that showed that patients may lose up to 27 years of their life. Researchers also stressed that the reduced years of life is just an average estimate, with many people living with the disease for much longer than ever before.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that more than 29 million Americans suffer from diabetes but only five percent of these patients suffer from type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce Insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy. People with the disease must learn to manage the it with insulin therapy, diet and other treatments in order to leave normal, healthy lives.
