Israeli study: Diabetic women have 25% greater risk of developing cancer

Diabetic women are at a significantly higher risk of developing cancer during their lifetime than men, according to a new Israeli study based on data on persons insured by the Maccabi Health Maintenance Organization. Overall, the study showed that diabetes increases by 25 percent the chances that women will suffer also from cancer, while there was no indication that the disease increased the risk in men.

Earlier research had pinpointed the link between diabetes and cancer, but in the current research, where gender was identified as a factor, the main conclusion was that diabetic men were not at particular risk of developing cancer, which to date had been a standard assumption.

The research was based on Maccabi patients aged 21 and above, between the year 2000 and August 2008, examining a total of 1,639 cases of cancer out of a total of 16,721 diabetics. The study related to the 7,945 cancer patients among Maccabi clients, among the HMO's overall 83,874 clients who are not diabetics.

In general, it was found that diabetes increases by 25 percent the risk of cancer in women, but not for men. Diabetic women were at a 96 percent higher risk of developing cancer in the reproductive system, but there was no indication of a rise in the risk of contracting breast cancer.

Also, there is a 46 percent higher risk of cancer among diabetic women in the digestive system, and a further breakdown identified a fourfold risk in cancer of the gall bladder, 2.6 times greater for cancer of the esophagus, an 89 percent chance for pancreatic cancer and 52 percent for cancer of the large intestine. No noticeable additional risk for cancer of the rectum was identified in diabetic women.

There was also a 61 percent increase in the risk of cancer in the thyroid glands, 43 percent in kidneys and the urinary tract, 35 percent for bone cancer and joints, 14 percent in the circulatory system and 12 percent in the respiratory system.

According to data of the four HMOs, 292,000 diabetics currently receive medical treatment, which constitute about 4.2 percent of the population and 6.4 percent of the adult population. The rate of increase in the number of cases of diabetes during the past decade stands at about 0.2 percent per year, and diet is considered to be one of the prime causes - as is the improved methods for diagnosis. Of the diabetics in the Maccabi data bank, 47 percent are women.

The researchers, led by Dr. Gabriel Chodick of the Department of Informatics at Maccabi and the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the Tel Aviv University Medical School, concluded that the link between diabetes and cancer is not absolute and depends on gender, as well as the types of cancer.

"The findings support the development of programs for the prevention of women diabetics, and for increasing awareness of female diabetics and medical staff," the researchers conclude.