Men With Type 1 Diabetes Are Better at Blood Sugar Control Than Women

[Northerner]

Men with type 1 diabetes appear to be better at blood sugar control than women, but there is no significant difference in blood sugar control between boys and girls. These are the findings of new research presented at this week's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain. The research is by Professor Sarah Wild, University of Edinburgh, UK, and colleagues from the International quality of care for type 1 diabetes group.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130923200309.htm

Interesting...

 

[Cleo]

Alan are you trying to start world war 3 on the forum ? 😉😉

The summary is very thin, the "methodology" section is practically non existent - I need something much more meaty to be convinced ! 🙂

Nulle points and a thumbs down from me ! 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

[ducks out of the way and takes cover]

 

[LeeLee]

Given that the difference pre-puberty was not significant, and that the difference was smaller in the 30+ age range than 15-29, my first thought is that there's something hormonal going on. There have been a couple of Ladies' threads that might also suggest that control is more complicated at certain times of the month. It's a shame they didn't split the 30+ age range into 30-55 and 55+.

 

[SimplesL]

Seems a bit subjective by the sound of it; perhaps the effect of a lady's hormons at various stages should be looked into more.

 

[newbs]

It's a shame they didn't split the 30+ age range into 30-55 and 55+.

Definitely, that would have given a better idea. Hormones definitely play a big part though, I'm sure.

 

[AJLang]

It's simple....women are just too busy doing much more fun and important things in their lives.......

 

[Redkite]

Never mind the marginal gender differences, it's pretty shocking that 65-75% of people with type 1 are not managing to achieve an Hba1c under 7.5. Nothing to celebrate here, more like "men with type 1diabetes are marginally less bad at blood sugar control than women"!

There is obviously a dire lack of quality training and support for people with type 1.

 

[HOBIE]

I would like you to try it yourself "REDKITE".

 

[Northerner]

Never mind the marginal gender differences, it's pretty shocking that 65-75% of people with type 1 are not managing to achieve an Hba1c under 7.5. Nothing to celebrate here, more like "men with type 1diabetes are marginally less bad at blood sugar control than women"!

There is obviously a dire lack of quality training and support for people with type 1.

Yes, I was quite shocked at that. I wonder if it is partly due to the fact that there seems to be more concern from HCPs that a low HbA1c must be due to loads of hypos, so are happier when they see higher. Unless you have frequent communication with others in the same boat (e.g. here on the forum) then you probably wouldn't question it. I'm not saying 7.5 is terrible - far from it - but to have such a low number getting below this isn't good. Would love to know what proportion were in the 5% club! 🙂

 

[Redkite]

I would like you to try it yourself "REDKITE".

Hobie, I wasn't at all criticising people with type 1 who don't achieve the a1c targets, I was criticising the health care professionals who are supposed to be helping them! I may not be diabetic myself but I've "tried it" in terms of struggling to manage my son's diabetes from a very young age, so I'm well aware of the relentless hard work. I'm also aware of the difference that a good clinic team makes - we had to move hospitals for decent support. People with type 1 in other European countries get much better a1c's than here in the UK.

 

[Twitchy]

I suspect it's women of that age group who struggle partly due to a double whammy of D + a lot in that group have small kids (yes, I know not everyone has kids!)

Speaking only from my personal experience, hormones play hobb with control which is then made worse when wrangling kids, house, work etc - sunday for example OH was away with work (had been for days), I'd not been sleeping well & so was tired & not concentrating & I forgot to bolus at every meal because the kids were being monsters, only remembered about 1/2 hr after each meal! ...then on my working days stress related to dashing around doing Kiddy drop offs & pick ups trying not to be late for work can affect my control for hours...

<waits to be shot down for suggesting mums more often get lumped with the childcare>

 

[AJLang]

Twitch you and other diabetics dealing with children deserve massive praise and recognition. I think you do brilliantly xx

 

[AJLang]

And my same comment applies to the parents of diabetics 🙂

 

[DeusXM]

Let's really go for a stereotype here. Just let me put my tin hat on...

....right, let's go.

There is a school of thought (and I must stress I am purely the messenger in this!) that suggests men, once they do go on a diet, tend to do better that women on a diet. The rationale behind this is that men are supposedly more adept at tackling things very single-mindedly and treat it more like a job or a challenge, rather than something in which they are emotionally vested in. Anyone who has tried to 'help' a man doing a DIY task may be familiar with the level of focus and refusal to stop until the job is done from the man you are trying to help!

If we accept this as having a grain of truth...

...diabetes is, to some extent, a bit like going on a diet. It requires the same sort of discipline and is a solution to a problem. I would gently suggest that possibly, men may (or may not!) be better at having a more dispassionate response to when things don't do wrong.

I am not saying that women are all 'silly and emotional' or that men are all 'cold and rational'. But it may be that men are marginally better at separating at mentally separating the process of the task at hand from the results. Again, I can't really extrapolate my own experience as being definitive but I know that when I go on a diet, I end up going at it very bull-headed and bloodyminded and grimly plod through until I achieve what I wanted, whereas my girlfriend tends to start these things, get fed up quickly if she doesn't quite get the result she wants, and then revert back to normal.

I can only really pass judgement on my own personal experience of my diabetes. I just know that I don't get hung up on times when things go wrong, and I'm not in the slightest bit bothered when people suggest the ideal A1C is lower than what I am currently achieving. I find taking this attitude makes it far easier for me to manage my diabetes. It may be that if you have the same attitude, regardless of gender, you will also find it easier, and it may simply be that a higher proportion of men tend towards this attitude, which may be biological, or it may be cultural.

Either way though, we've all got a thankless deal and anyone taking on this fight deserves whatever support they need to get through it.

Once again, PLEASE don't shoot the messenger, I'm just exploring a theory.

 

[Northerner]

Personally, I think that statistics tell you nothing, certainly not these sort of statistics. What matters is your own personal results and if you are doing the best you can for the circumstances you are presented with. People are far too complex, even gender isn't as straightforward as boy or girl. 🙄

 

[bev]

Hi Northerner,

My own view is that a large proportion of men like routine!🙂Seriously I think men like the same sorts of foods and are more sedentry than a lot of women! Women tend to be the ones running around after families and therefore maybe not keeping an eye on their diabetes as much as the man sitting down! Men tend to not like change and therefore are more likely to eat the same sorts of foods/do the same sort of exercise routinely - whereas a woman likes to experiment and are mostly more spontaneous than men. It therefore follows that a womans lifestyle is more up and down - whilst a mans is more stable.

And lets not forget HORMONES! Women have monthly cycles - this plays havoc with levels - men dont have that to deal with do they. As for women not being good at diets - I have never heard such a lot of tosh! Women are strong-willed and determined - and in any case I am not sure why this would necessarily mean you dont have good control as such? If your insulin requirements are being met adequately then not sure why being able to stick to a diet would give better control.

Hard hats not needed - just a good dose of humour and a backbone.🙂Bev

 

[Lauras87]

Sounds a good topic to start a new world war 🙄

Personally I think control is down to an individual's mind set not their gender.

 

[Redkite]

DeusXM - I find myself agreeing with you!!!

 

[Cleo]

Sounds a good topic to start a new world war 🙄

Personally I think control is down to an individual's mind set not their gender.

Personally, I think that statistics tell you nothing, certainly not these sort of statistics. What matters is your own personal results and if you are doing the best you can for the circumstances you are presented with. People are far too complex, even gender isn't as straightforward as boy or girl. 🙄

Well put !!!🙂