Are Men and Women Receiving the Same Level of Diabetes Care?
It is estimated that there are about 9.7 million women suffering from diabetes in the Unites States today, about one-third of whom are unaware that they have the condition.
Studies also show that women are just as likely as men to be recommended by their doctors for screening tests and to receive treatment for their diabetes. Numbers released recently by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality showed that the number of women receiving the recommended blood sugar, retinal and foot examinations for diabetes had risen from 37% in 2000 to 47% in 2003, which puts it only just behind men who came in at 49%. However, while the death rate from diabetes is dropping in men, it is actually rising in women.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the results of a survey which examined the health records of some 27,000 diabetes sufferers covering a 30 year period between 1971 and 2000. This study revealed that while the death rate amongst men had dropped during this time period from 4.3% to 2.4%, the death rate amongst women had risen from 1.8% to 2.6%. The study also noted that death rates from cardiovascular disease in particular were dropping in men, but remained steady in women.
So just what is causing this difference?
At the moment the simple answer is that we don’t know, although there are a number of theories being put forward. For example, perhaps the risk factors for heart disease in women have not declined in recent years as much as they have for men. Or perhaps women have not been receiving as comprehensive or as aggressive treatment as has been provided for men. This of course is purely speculative at this time but, whatever the reason, there is certainly no doubting the difference in the figures between men and women.
Clearly further investigation is going to be necessary to discover just why this disparity exists but, in the meantime, if you are a woman then you should certainly be checked for diabetes, if this has not already been done, and should insist that your doctor treats the condition aggressively.
Tagged with: diabetes in men • diabetes in women • diabetes treatment
Filed under: Diabetes
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