Type 2 diabetes is something that affects both male and women fairly equally, though it
can be a little different for women. One way it is different is based on what occurs when
a woman is in a certain stage of her life. Here is what you should know about diabetes
in women, and during the different life stages she goes through.
Early Life
The first stage of life where you need to be concerned with diabetes as a woman is
early life. This is typically during adolescent years between pre-teen and teenage years.
Type 1 diabetes is something you are born with, but it rarely shows itself before you are
about 10 years old. Type 2 diabetes you can also get during your teens, often from a
genetic risk, obesity, and many other factors. Getting diabetes at this young of an age
creates more complications for things like diabetic eye disease, so it is important that
you or your teenager stick to the diet laid out to you by your doctor.
Early Adult
The next life stage for women is early adulthood, which can range between 18 or 19
years old up to your early 40s. During this time, it is known as your reproductive life
stage, where you can get pregnant and start a family. There are a lot of women around
this age that have diabetes and don’t realize it, or get pregnant and are diagnosed with
gestational diabetes. Some adolescents have type 1 diabetes are not diagnosed with it
until they reach this age, but type 2 diabetes tends to be a little more common during
early adulthood.
Middle-Aged
The next life stage is when you get to the middle-aged years, between around 45 years
old until your early 60s. This is when there is an increase in women who are diagnosed
with type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes does tend to be more common with older
women, so if you are a middle-aged woman in the United States, you are at a
considerably higher risk. Women of this age with diabetes also have a higher risk of
developing heart disease, so don’t go too long before you get tested and have a
treatment plan by your doctor.
Senior
Lastly, there are senior women who are 65 years or older. It is very common in women
of this age, plus the side effects and potential complications of diabetes gets higher for
women of this age. You need to be concerned about heart disease, stroke, high blood
pressure, and diabetes symptoms like nerve damage and vision loss.