Diabetes Mellitus in Women: A Call to Action

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) poses a huge burden on individuals and the health system globally. Its effects on individuals lead to morbidity and mortality arising from cardiovascular diseases (CVD), kidney disease, retinopathy/blindness, neuropathy, foot ulcers, which may lead to amputation, and associated mental health problems, notably depression. When DM affects women, the impact is huge among them when compared with men. Among women with gestational DM (GDM), the effect is not only felt by the women but also by the offspring. Even though women are relatively protected from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by the effects of oestrogen before menopause, this protection is obliterated in T2DM, causing women to have a 50% higher risk of fatal coronary heart disease than men. The severity of DM retinopathy is said to worsen when a woman with DM becomes pregnant, and diabetes kidney disease also occurs more commonly in women than men. To reduce this burden, women are encouraged to take action by practicing measures that have been proven to prevent or delay the development of DM, especially type 2 DM and its complications.