A new Scottish research says people with type 1 diabetes lose more than 10 years of life, although they receive improved treatment for both the disease and its complications.
Senior author of the study, Dr. Helen Colhoun, a clinical professor in the diabetes epidemiology unit of the University of Dundee School of Medicine in Scotland, said that the findings of the research provide a qualitative way to measure how much type 1 diabetes reduces life expectancy.
According to the research, the effect of diabetes on cardiac health is the prime reason of lost years. The scientists also revealed that the mortality rate of type 1 diabetic patients is significant among people below the age of 50 years . This significant mortality rate is related to conditions caused by complications in management of diabetes, such as diabetic coma. Diabetic coma is a condition associated with severe low blood sugar level and ketoacidosis caused as a result of reduced amount of insulin in the body.
Dr. Colhoun further posits that these conditions uncover the everyday challenge continuously faced by type 1 diabetic patients; which is, how to receive the right amount of insulin at the right time to manage the blood sugar level.
The second study also published in JAMA, postulates that early mortality linked to type 1 diabetes could be avoided by intensive blood sugar management.
Co-author Dr. Samuel Dagogo-Jack, maintained that the research team noted increased survival in patients who had better glucose control due to intensive therapy. The intensive therapy involves multiple blood sugar tests daily and constant adjustment of insulin level.
