Diabetes sufferers’ have greater life expectancy, says Dundee University study

Type I diabetes sufferers have a greater life expectancy than previously thought, according to a Dundee University study.

Research carried out in conjunction with the Scottish Diabetes Research Network shows that Type I diabetes is associated with an average reduction in life expectancy of around 11 years in men and 13 years in women.

Researchers said their data indicated an improvement on historical reports, but also emphasised the need for further improvement.

Professor Helen Colhoun and Shona Livingstone at Dundee University and colleagues in the Scottish Diabetes Research Network used a large national registry of patients with Type I diabetes living in Scotland to provide contemporary comparisons of life expectancy with the general population without the disease.

The results of the study are published in yesterday’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.