NLM Director’s Comments Transcript
Type 1 Diabetes Reduces Life Expectancy: 03/02/2015

Share on facebook Share on twitter Bookmark & Share

Photo: Courtesy of
the Centers for Disease Control.

Greetings from the National Library of Medicine and MedlinePlus.gov

Regards to all our listeners!

I'm Rob Logan, Ph.D. senior staff U.S. National Library of Medicine for Donald Lindberg, M.D, the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Here is what's new this week in MedlinePlus.

The comparative life expectancy of men and women with Type 1 diabetes is more than a decade less than adults without the disease, finds a comprehensive study from Scotland recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The prospective cohort study, from the Scottish Diabetes Research Network, found men and women with Type 1 diabetes live 11 and 13 years less respectively than their peers without diabetes.

More specifically, the comparative study of Scottish adults with Type 1 diabetes, finds men with diabetes live for about 46 years after their 20th birthday, while men without diabetes live for about 57 years after age 20. About 47 percent of men with Type 1 diabetes live to age 70 compared to 76 percent of men without the condition.

Women with diabetes live for about 48 years after their 20th birthday, while women without diabetes live for about 61 years after age 20. About 55 percent of women with Type 1 diabetes live to age 70 compared to 83 percent of women without the condition.

The study’s 18 authors compared 25,000 Scottish adults with Type 1 diabetes (who were culled from a comprehensive national health registry) with general population health statistics.

In one of the study’s other sobering findings, the authors found Type 1 diabetics before age 50 may die from conditions caused by complications in managing diabetes, such as a diabetic coma (caused by critically low blood sugar) and ketoacidosis (caused by a lack of insulin in the body).

In an editorial that accompanied the study, the editorial’s two authors note the study found premature deaths from Type 1 diabetes were primarily caused by circulatory disease, 16 percent of deaths were caused by cancer, and nine percent were from acute complications and other diabetes-related causes.

One of the Scottish study’s authors told Health Day the findings (and we quote) ‘provide a more up-to-date quantification of how much Type 1 diabetes cuts your life span now, in our contemporary era’ (end of quote).

The author also told Health Day (and we quote): ‘These conditions really reflect the day-to-day challenge that people with Type 1 diabetes continue to face, how to get the right amount of insulin delivered at the right time to deal with your blood sugar levels’ (end of quote).

Meanwhile, there are a number of resources to assist persons with Type 1 diabetes on MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health topic page. Some basic questions about Type 1 diabetes are addressed in a website from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, which is found in the ‘start here’ section of MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health page.

Information that goes beyond the basics (from UpToDate) is available in the ‘overviews’ section of MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health page.

The American Diabetes Association also provides a helpful website on living with Type 1 diabetes, which can be found in the ‘coping’ section of MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health page.

MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health topic page additionally provides links to the latest pertinent journal research articles, which are available in the ‘journal articles’ section. Links to clinical trials that may be occurring in your area are available in the ‘clinical trials’ section. You can sign up to receive updates about Type 1 diabetes as they become available on MedlinePlus.gov.

To find MedlinePlus.gov’s Diabetes Type 1 health page type ‘Type 1 diabetes’ in the search box on MedlinePlus.gov’s home page, then, click on ‘Diabetes Type 1 (National Library of Medicine).’ MedlinePlus.gov also contains health topic pages on: diabetes, blood sugar, diabetes in children and teens, diabetes Type 2, and diabetic diet.

Before I go, this reminder… MedlinePlus.gov is authoritative. It's free. We do not accept advertising …and is written to help you.

To find MedlinePlus.gov, just type ‘MedlinePlus.gov’ in any web browser, such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Explorer. To find the improved smartphone version of Mobile MedlinePlus.gov, just type ‘Mobile MedlinePlus’ in the same web browsers.

We encourage you to use MedlinePlus and please recommend it to your friends. MedlinePlus is available in English and Spanish. Some medical information is available in 43 other languages.

Your comments about this or any of our podcasts are always welcome. We welcome suggestions about future topics too!

Please email Dr. Lindberg anytime at: NLMDirector@nlm.nih.gov

That's NLMDirector (one word) @nlm.nih.gov

A written transcript of recent podcasts is available by typing 'Director's comments' in the search box on MedlinePlus.gov's home page.

The National Library of Medicine is one of 27 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A disclaimer — the information presented in this program should not replace the medical advice of your physician. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any disease without first consulting with your physician or other health care provider.

It was nice to be with you. I look forward to meeting you here next week.