Of the 25.6 million adults with diabetes in the U.S. in 2010 (the most recent statistics available), 12.6 million are women. The risk of heart disease, the most common complication of diabetes, is more serious among women than men. Among people with diabetes who have had a heart attack, women have lower survival rates and a poorer quality of life than men. Women with diabetes have a shorter life expectancy than women without diabetes, and women are at greater risk of blindness from diabetes than men. Death rates for women ages 25 to 44 years with diabetes are more than three times the rate for women without diabetes.
Women with diabetes must also plan childbearing carefully. It is especially important to keep blood-glucose levels as near to normal as possible before and during pregnancy, to protect both mother and baby. Pregnancy itself may affect insulin levels, as well as diabetes-related eye and kidney problems. These statistics may seem daunting, but by working with your doctor and keeping blood-sugar levels under good control, women can do much to maintain diabetes control and to have a good quality of life.
—Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, April 2014
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