Research

Hormonal

Women with type 2 diabetes face a significantly higher relative risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality compared to men, despite often being diagnosed at a lower body mass index and younger age.

If you are a woman with type 2 diabetes, your risk of heart disease and death is higher relative to a man with diabetes, even if your weight is lower. This risk is amplified by hormonal changes like menopause and pregnancy history. You need aggressive management of blood pressure, lipids, and glucose, potentially starting earlier than guidelines might suggest for men, because your body may have more advanced heart vessel damage at the time of diagnosis.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Women with type 2 diabetes show greater relative risk of CVD and mortality than men... women with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have advanced atherosclerosis than men at the time of diagnosis
Alexandra Kautzky‐Willer et al. · Diabetologia · 2023

Why this rating

Based on a narrative review citing multiple large cohort studies, Mendelian randomization analyses, and meta-analyses.

Source

Sex differences in type 2 diabetes

Alexandra Kautzky‐Willer et al. · Diabetologia · 2023

DOI 10.1007/s00125-023-05891-x

narrative_reviewCited 552×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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