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Posted 3/20/2009 @ 3:15:04 pm by womenandnutrition.com
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Type 2 diabetes results when inadequate insulin is being produced or if the cells ignore the insulin which depletes cells of energy. Weight, elevated blood pressure, and genetics play a major role in the development of diabetes. Risk increases with age. Due to an increase in their life spans, the number of women at risk for the development of diabetes is increasing as well.
Diabetic women are at a greater risk of going into a diabetic coma than men with diabetes. More women with diabetes die from their first heart attack as well. Congestive heart failure is higher in women with diabetes when compared to men with diabetes. More than 60 percent of women with diabetes die from a stroke when compared to someone with normal blood sugar.
Gestational diabetes, which only occurs in pregnant women, has its own challenges. Women with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop toxemia, along with being more likely to have a baby with a high birth weight. The child will be more prone to being overweight after birth and developing diabetes.
Blood sugar levels fluctuate as a woman's hormones change. Polycystic ovary syndrome, a part of Insulin-Resistance Syndrome, affects up to 10 percent of diabetic women. Diabetic women taking birth control medication are at a higher risk for developing blood clots. These same hormone issues can result in vaginal dryness, yeast infections, and painful intercourse.
As the medical community gains greater insights into how women’s bodies function, more help for those who suffer any type of diabetes will become available.
