Diabetes Cuts Years off Life Span of Americans
Diabetes Cuts Years off Life Span of Americans
Study Shows Sharp Increase in Percentage of Adults With Diabetes
Dec. 1, 2010 -- Diabetes cuts about 8.5 years off the life span of the average 50-year-old compared to a 50-year-old without diabetes, new research indicates.
The study also shows that older adults with diabetes have a lower life expectancy at every age compared to people who do not have the disease. For example, researchers say, the difference at age 60 is 5.4 years; it’s one year by 90.
The findings come from a new report commissioned by the National Academy on an Aging Society and was supported by Sanofi-aventis U.S., a pharmaceutical company. It was based on data provided by the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of more than 20,000 Americans over age 50 done every two years by the University of Michigan.
Slideshow: Type 2 Diabetes Overview
“Given the rise in diabetes among boomers and seniors, these findings are alarming,” Greg O’Neill, PhD, director of the National Academy on an Aging Society, says in a news release. “They paint a stark picture of the impact of diabetes and its complications on healthy aging.”
The study shows a significant increase over the past decade in the percentage of adults over age 50 with diabetes, from 11% of non-Hispanic whites in 1998 to 18% in 2008, coinciding with an alarming obesity epidemic affecting most population groups.
The increase among adult non-Hispanic blacks has been even more alarming, from 22% to 32% in the past 10 years, study researchers say.
Compared to older adults without diabetes, patients with the disease are less likely to be employed and more likely to have other health problems, such as heart disease, depression, and disabilities that get in the way of normal life activities, the researchers say.
Scott M. Lynch, PhD, of Princeton University’s Office of Population Research, analyzed data on more than 20,000 adults over the age of 50. The study, described as a “profile,” was written by Nancy Maddox, MPH, a co-founder of Maren Enterprises, a consulting firm specializing in technical and promotional writing in the field of public health.
Diabetes Cuts Years off Life Span of Americans
Study Shows Sharp Increase in Percentage of Adults With Diabetes
Dec. 1, 2010 -- Diabetes cuts about 8.5 years off the life span of the average 50-year-old compared to a 50-year-old without diabetes, new research indicates.
The study also shows that older adults with diabetes have a lower life expectancy at every age compared to people who do not have the disease. For example, researchers say, the difference at age 60 is 5.4 years; it’s one year by 90.
The findings come from a new report commissioned by the National Academy on an Aging Society and was supported by Sanofi-aventis U.S., a pharmaceutical company. It was based on data provided by the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of more than 20,000 Americans over age 50 done every two years by the University of Michigan.
Slideshow: Type 2 Diabetes Overview
Increase in Diabetes
“Given the rise in diabetes among boomers and seniors, these findings are alarming,” Greg O’Neill, PhD, director of the National Academy on an Aging Society, says in a news release. “They paint a stark picture of the impact of diabetes and its complications on healthy aging.”
The study shows a significant increase over the past decade in the percentage of adults over age 50 with diabetes, from 11% of non-Hispanic whites in 1998 to 18% in 2008, coinciding with an alarming obesity epidemic affecting most population groups.
The increase among adult non-Hispanic blacks has been even more alarming, from 22% to 32% in the past 10 years, study researchers say.
Compared to older adults without diabetes, patients with the disease are less likely to be employed and more likely to have other health problems, such as heart disease, depression, and disabilities that get in the way of normal life activities, the researchers say.
Scott M. Lynch, PhD, of Princeton University’s Office of Population Research, analyzed data on more than 20,000 adults over the age of 50. The study, described as a “profile,” was written by Nancy Maddox, MPH, a co-founder of Maren Enterprises, a consulting firm specializing in technical and promotional writing in the field of public health.
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