People with learning disabilities progress faster to severe type 2 diabetes and are at greater risk of dying from their condition than people without these disabilities, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Control. This is despite having better overall blood glucose control and similar risks of vascular complications, the findings indicate.
“Our finding of higher rates of insulin initiation in those with learning disabilities warrants further investigation into whether this is due to poorer glycemic control at presentation (and therefore faster advancing type 2 diabetes) or due to having a greater degree of clinical surveillance,” say the researchers.
“Future research into the mechanisms behind this could help reduce health disparities for people with [type 2 diabetes] and learning disabilities,” they add.