Diabetes can be linked to elevated risk of death from cancer and other non-vascular conditions, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers in the United Kingdom collected patient data from 97 prospective studies, analyzing data related to the cause of 123,205 deaths among a group of 820,900 people. The relative risk of specific causes of death was estimated according to baseline diabetes status or fasting glucose level. The researchers also adjusted for variables such as age, sex, smoking status and body-mass index.
The researchers found that, other than vascular disease, diabetes is associated with substantial rates of premature death from various cancers, such as liver, pancreas, ovary, colorectum, lung, bladder and breast). Diabetes was also associated with death caused by liver disease, renal disease, pneumonia and other infectious diseases, mental disorders, non-hepatic diseases, external causes, intentional self-harm, nervous system disorders, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
See “Diabetes Mellitus, Fasting Glucose, and Risk of Cause-Specific Death,”New England Journal of Medicine (March 3, 2011; 364[9]: 829-841), available at www.nejm.org.