Type 2 diabetes greatly increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but a new study shows that cardiovascular risk factors such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels differ significantly between men and women with diabetes.
The study, involving 680 diabetics, found that blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher in women, and women were significantly less likely to have these factors under control. Some 17% of men had control of these factors, compared to 6% of women.
The findings suggest that more effort should be put into informing women about cardiovascular risk factors and how to reduce them.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/mali-sdi051514.php
Journal article freely available at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/dia.2013.0329