[acb-diabetics] life expectancy of type 1 increased by 15 years

[Patricia LaFrance-Wolf]

 <http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/diabetes-in-control-newsletters/639>
Issue 639 

 

 


Lifespans for Type 1 Diabetes Patients Getting Longer by 15 Years


Life expectancy significantly increased among individuals with type 1
diabetes during a 30-year, long-term prospective study....






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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that study participants
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 1965 and 1980 lived around 15 years
longer than participants diagnosed between 1950 and 1964. During the same
period, the life expectancy of the general U.S. population also increased by
less than one year. 

Rachel Miller, M.S., statistician at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate
School of Public Health, stated that, "The estimated 15-year life expectancy
improvement between the two groups persisted regardless of gender or age at
diagnosis."

The study findings are based on individuals who took part in the Pittsburgh
Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) study. Participants of the
study were diagnosed with the disease between 1950 and 1980.

Trevor Orchard MD, senior author and professor of epidemiology, pediatrics
and medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, said, "Type 1 diabetes
mortality rates are known to have decreased over time, but recent life
expectancy estimates for those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the United
States are lacking." 

"Therefore, we estimated life expectancy of the EDC study cohort and were
impressed to see such an improvement - a tribute to how modern day treatment
has dramatically changed the outlook for those with childhood onset of type
1 diabetes."

The researchers found that the mortality rate for participants diagnosed
with type 1 diabetes between 1950 and 1964 was 35.6% vs. 11.6% of those
diagnosed between 1965-1980. 

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin to
control blood glucose levels. The disease, which is generally treated with
insulin replacement therapy, is usually diagnosed in children and young
adults.

This disease is caused by an overactive immune system - the patient's body
attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, mistaking them for
harmful pathogens.

"Improvements in the life expectancy of type 1 diabetes" Trevor Orchard et
al Diabetes July 30, 2012, doi: 10.2337/db11-1625 


 

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<http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/articles/53-diabetes-news/12935-ada-first-
us-type-1-registry-with-25000-participants-publishes-results>  First U.S.
Type 1 Registry with 25,000 Participants Publishes Results 

 

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