Understanding Type-2 Diabetes: Causes, Symptoms, and Gender Differences
Type-2 diabetes, as we all know, is a scary non-communicable disease that might daunt the entire good life. But have you ever known what causes it to happen?
Apparently, there is a lot of data showing that the diabetes rate is increasing among adults worldwide, and mostly because of the rise in the obese population. Approximately 30% of Malaysian children are also facing overweight or obese conditions (Lanong Abdullah and Nasri, 2019). Living a sedentary lifestyle and consuming unhealthy food can lead to weight gain and obesity, increasing the risk of Type-2 diabetes.
Causes of Type-2 Diabetes
Though obesity is heritable, external factors play a more important role, particularly due to overconsumption of calories than burned. An inactive lifestyle might slow down your metabolism rate thus, food does not convert to energy whereas it is converted to fat stored in your body. Eventually, the pancreas will probably be working extra hard to produce insulin but when cells are insulin-resistant, prediabetes may develop. However, the progression of diabetes isn’t inevitable.
Signs of Type-2 Diabetes
Here are 10 classic signs of prediabetes progressing to Type 2 diabetes:
- Always feeling thirsty
- Frequent urge to urinate
- Feeling hungry despite eating
- Constant fatigue
- Blurred vision
- Numbness or tingling in feet and hands
- Frequent infections
- Slow healing
- Unintended weight loss
- Excessive sweating
Gender Differences in Type-2 Diabetes
Generally, men and women face different challenges with Type-2 diabetes. According to Medical News Today, men are twice as likely to develop Type-2 diabetes than women, but women experience more complications (Basina and Meissner, 2021). This difference is due to variations in body systems (Nordström et al., 2016).
| Men | Women |
| – Higher visceral fat | – Higher subcutaneous fat |
| – More metabolically active | – More metabolically healthy |
| – Higher risk of metabolic syndrome (type 2 diabetes) | – Higher likelihood of complications than men |
Why Women Face More Complications
Women’s sex hormones such as estrogen play an essential role in protecting against many conditions including heart and kidney disease. High blood sugar or type 2 diabetes impairs the body’s responses to estrogen signaling on the body (Rettberg et al., 2014). Therefore, these studies underscore the importance of considering gender-specific strategies in the management and treatment of diabetes to address the unique challenges faced by men and women.
Depression and Mental Health
Additionally, in an earlier 2006 and 2020 study, 50% of women with type 2 diabetes are also more likely to experience depression than men (Ali et al., 2006 and Hsu et al., 2020).
Increased Cardiovascular Risk in Women
Indeed, women with diabetes have a 44% greater risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to men with diabetes. This suggests that diabetes confers a greater relative risk of cardiovascular complications in women (Peter et al.,2014). Not only that, in another study by Peters and colleagues in the year 2019, women with diabetes have a higher risk of stroke due to being adversely affected by the cardiovascular system compared to men with diabetes. Moreover, elevated blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels and nerves. Because of this, it leads to poor circulation, making it harder for the body to fight infections.
Kidney Disease
Another meta-analysis of Neugarten and colleagues (2000), showed that women are less likely to progress to end-stage renal disease compared to men. However, when women do develop diabetic nephropathy, the progression can be more severe.
Sexual Dysfunction
Furthermore, reduced estrogen levels increase the risk of sexual dysfunction. Women with diabetes report higher rates of sexual dysfunction, including reduced libido and satisfaction, compared to men. In this case, it significantly impacts the quality of life and psychological well-being (Ezlin et al., 2002). Consequently, women with Type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing urinary tract and yeast infections. In one 2015 study, over 78% of women with type 2 diabetes reported some form of sexual dysfunction, including:
Preventing and Managing Type 2 Diabetes
So, don’t let diabetes complications trouble and control us! Prevent diabetes complications by adopting a plant-based diet, staying active, getting enough sleep, and incorporating blood glucose management products. Discover more insulin-related ingredients here.
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References
Basina, M. and Meissner, M. (2021) Type 2 diabetes in men vs. women, Medical News Today. MediLexicon International. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/diabetes-affects-men-women (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
Hsu YL, Su DH, Kuo SC. Health literacy and depression in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2020;75:e1436. doi: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e1436. Epub 2020 May 29. PMID: 32490935; PMCID: PMC7233688.
Lanong Abdullah, J.I. and Nasri , M. (2019) Childhood obesity a growing health crisis in Malaysia, Malaysiakini. Available at: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/482860 (Accessed: November 1, 2022).
Nordström A, Hadrévi J, Olsson T, Franks PW, Nordström P. Higher Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in Men Than in Women Is Associated With Differences in Visceral Fat Mass. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Oct;101(10):3740-3746. doi: 10.1210/jc.2016-1915. Epub 2016 Aug 4. PMID: 27490920.
Rettberg JR, Yao J, Brinton RD. Estrogen: a master regulator of bioenergetic systems in the brain and body. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2014 Jan;35(1):8-30. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2013.08.001. Epub 2013 Aug 29. PMID: 23994581; PMCID: PMC4024050.
