Type 2 diabetes linked with an increased risk of dying from cancer

Studies suggest that people with type 2 diabetes have an 18% higher risk of dying from any type of cancer compared to the general population.

To Sarah Novak

Studies suggest that people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to die from all types of cancer than the general population. The reason for this is unknown, but it may be related to the long-term elevated blood sugar levels and inflammatory effects seen in type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes has been previously associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. However, the severity of the risk and how it affects mortality was unclear.

To learn more, Suping Ling of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and her colleagues examined a database of over 137,800 people with type 2 diabetes aged 35 and over in the UK.

Researchers followed from 1998 to 2018 whether any of the participants were diagnosed with cancer and the outcome of that condition.

At the end of the study period, these outcomes were compared to people in the UK general population with the same type of cancer and other similar characteristics such as age and weight. It was obtained from and included both those with and without type 2 diabetes.

Excluding type 2 diabetes, cancer kills about 1 in 4 people in the UK. Nonetheless, the results show that participants with type 2 diabetes are 18% more likely to die from any type of cancer compared to the general population.

The risk of dying from colorectal cancer, especially colorectal cancer, or colorectal cancer that affects the liver, pancreas, or endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus, was about twice as high.

“People with type 2 diabetes live longer, which exposes their bodies to insulin resistance longer, increasing their risk of cancer,” says Ling.

The results also showed that people with type 2 diabetes had a 9% higher breast cancer mortality rate. This increased by 4.1% per year among younger participants, defined as he was 55 years old at the start of the study.

Ling said whether people under the age of 55 with type 2 diabetes are also at increased risk of dying from breast cancer and could benefit from early mammograms offered by the UK’s National Health Service for women aged 50 to 70. further studies need to assess whether there is

However, mammograms in young women are not always useful. This is because breast tissue tends to be denser, which can lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment.

This study did not include people with type 1 diabetes. Other studies suggest that the risk of certain types of cancer is also increased.

The latest research should help doctors monitor the potential risk of advanced cancer in people with type 2 diabetes, said Jonathan Stegall of the Georgia Center for Advanced Medicine, he said.