MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- Women with type 2 diabetes
and heart disease often receive less of the medical treatment they
need than men, making their ability to control both diseases more
difficult, a new study reports.
The research findings, expected to be presented at the Endocrine
Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, probably explains why
death from heart disease is being lowered in male diabetics but not
among females.
"Our study shows that in patients with diabetes, there is a
clear disparity between men and women in the control and treatment
of important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease,"
study leader Dr. Ioanna Gouni-Berthold, professor of medicine at
the University of Cologne in Germany, said in a prepared
statement.
"Women have worse control of their blood pressure, blood sugar
and cholesterol levels compared to men and are given
cholesterol-lowering medications less often," she said.
Researchers from three German universities studied almost 45,000
people with type 2 diabetes, 40 percent with heart and vascular
disease, who were treated by private-practice physicians.
In the group with cardiovascular disease, they found that:
- While women were 44 percent more likely than men to have high
LDL ("bad") cholesterol, they were 15 percent less likely to
receive lipid-lowering medications.
- Women also were 19 percent more likely than men to have
uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Women were 15 percent more likely to have poor long-term
control of their blood glucose (sugar) level.
While women are normally less likely then men to die from heart
disease, the findings shows diabetes may negate some of that lower
risk, Gouni-Berthold said.
"More aggressive treatment of cardiovascular disease in women
with diabetes may improve the gender disparity in cardiovascular
disease mortality," she added. "Patients should speak with their
doctors about the intensity of treatment modalities."
More information
The American Diabetes Association has more about
diabetes.
