Study finds diabetes complications differ between men and women

LONDON — Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have found that complications following a type 2 diabetes diagnosis follow different patterns in women and men, with mental health issues more common among women and cardiovascular and kidney problems more prevalent among men. The study analyzed health records of roughly 29,000 men and women diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2020. About 39 percent of participants experienced at least one significant health event in the years after diagnosis, with clear differences between the sexes in both the type and timing of complications. Mental health problems were recorded in 8.1 percent of women, compared with 5.3 percent of men, and tended to appear earlier and more frequently in women. Cardiovascular disease affected 8.4 percent of men versus 5.3 percent of women, while end-stage kidney disease and high blood pressure were also more common among men. The researchers said the findings point to the need for sex-sensitive prevention and treatment strategies in diabetes care, though they did not provide further details on what such approaches would entail.