Type 1 diabetes complications rise after menopause, Montreal study finds

Women with Type 1 diabetes appear to face more physical and psychosocial health problems after menopause and may need an updated care plan, according to Canadian Press reporting on a September study in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

Researchers reviewed records for 211 women aged 40–60 — 90 postmenopausal and 121 premenopausal — focusing on complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease and falls, plus insulin use, hypoglycemia and depressive symptoms. Postmenopausal women had higher risk of those complications and of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, and were less likely to have been prescribed antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications.

Co-author Jane Yardley of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute said several outcomes were worse after menopause than before, and that clinicians should reassess diabetes care in that window. She pointed to Canadian data suggesting muscle mass, strength and quality decline more rapidly after menopause in women with Type 1 diabetes, helping explain elevated fall risk alongside faster bone-density loss.

Yardley also argued women’s hormonal cycles have long been under-studied in diabetes research even though insulin needs can rise in the days before a period. The authors called for more studies on the associations they observed as patients with Type 1 diabetes live longer into midlife and beyond.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a qualified clinician about your own health.

Sources: Canadian Press via Winnipeg Free Press; CP24.