Parenthood may Reduce Diabetes-Related Death Risk in Women

A recent study shows that type 1 diabetes patients with children may have a lower risk of death than those without children. The findings show, in fact, that parenthood promotes a stronger sense of health in men and women.

As previous findings have urged that diabetes-related complications put those with type 1 diabetes at a greater risk for death than the general population, this study examines the disease by particularly studying side-effects through family and caregivers. 

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 5,200 people in Finland who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 17 or younger between 1965 and 1979. They were then placed on insulin at the time of their diagnosis and compared with a control group of twice as many individuals without diabetes.

At the end of 2010, researchers found that 1,025 people with diabetes and about 500 people in the control group had died. Death from all causes were nearly five times higher among women with diabetes than women in the control group. Results also showed that the death rate was three times higher among men with diabetes than among men in the control group.

Yet overall, the findings showed that in general, the more children a person had, the lower their risk for a diabetes-related death was.

However, gender differences also played a critical role in determining whether children would benefit their risk. For instance, the beneficial effect of having children was much smaller among men with diabetes than women.

Researchers believe this may be due to the fact that women with type 1 diabetes are trained and highly motivated to achieve better control of their diabetes during pregnancy, which could potentially continue after they give birth, according to lead study author Dr. Lena Sjoberg of the University of Helsinki and National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland.

The study found only an association between having children and risk of death -- it did not prove cause-and-effect.

More information regarding the study can be found via a presentation Wednesday at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Barcelona, Spain.