Health outcomes after type 2 diabetes differed by sex
Mental health diagnoses followed diabetes in 8.1% of women versus 5.3% of men; heart, blood vessel or end-stage kidney disease was more common in men.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 28,720 people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, median 6.8 years, against men
- What changed:
- Mental health diagnoses followed diabetes in 8.1% of women versus 5.3% of men
- The catch:
- Differences in healthcare-seeking behavior could explain part of the sex gap in mental health diagnoses
- In the record:
- The 9th paper on mental health conditions with results in people; 37 on record in all.
- Why it’s aging research:
- It looks at how biology varies with age or lifespan.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational cohort study examined records from 28,720 people aged 16 and older in England newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2010 and 2020. Men made up 62% of the cohort. Researchers tracked new diagnoses and deaths over a median of 6.8 years.
Mental health conditions were diagnosed in 8.1% of women and 5.3% of men. Heart, blood vessel or end-stage kidney disease was recorded in 8.4% of men and 5.3% of women. High blood pressure was the most frequent next diagnosis across age groups and sexes. In both sexes, diabetes followed by a mental health condition was associated with earlier death than other disease paths.
Why it matters
The authors called for diabetes care tailored to sex and age, addressing the overlap between physical and mental health conditions as people grow older.
Caveats
The observational design cannot establish cause, and differences in healthcare-seeking may partly explain the mental health diagnosis gap. The cohort excluded people who already had any of the studied outcome conditions before their diabetes diagnosis.
- Type 2 diabetes
- Mental disorders
- Mental health conditions
- Cardiovascular and renal complications
- Cardiovascular disease
- Humans
The paper
Queen Mary University of London
PLOS Medicine, Aug 25, 2026, Open access
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