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Women with diabetes are about 40 per cent more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD) than men with diabetes, according to a meta-analysis involving 858,507 people.

Diabetes more than doubled the relative risk of developing CHD (2.82 in women and 2.16 in men) compared to controls. After adjusting for confounders, women with diabetes were 44 per cent more likely to develop CHD than men with diabetes. This sex difference was consistent across age, the study’s geographical region and after excluding non-fatal CHD events.

The authors suggest in the research that the risk of CHD associated with diabetes among women reflects the combination of “greater deterioration” in risk factors before CHD emerges than in men. Women also show more sustained increases in cardiovascular risk than men before diabetes, partly due to their greater adiposity.

Healthcare professionals might also recognise CHD earlier in men because of their higher absolute risk. Nevertheless, future studies should “more clearly elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the substantial sex difference”. (Diabetologia)