‘If you have diabetes, the risk of having the disease increases four to five times in women as compared to a two-time increase in men.’
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Diabetic women are more prone to having cardiovascular diseases compared to men, said Chitra Selvan, head of the Department of Endocrinology, Ramaiah Medical Centre.
Speaking at the international conference on ‘Ayurveda and Integrative Approaches to Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome’, she said, “Generally, it is believed that heart disease is a thing that is more common in men. But if you have diabetes, the risk of having cardiovascular disease increases four to five times in women as compared to a two-time increase in men.”
She added that women are probably at more risk of cardiovascular disease if they are getting treated for Type 2 diabetes.
Estrogen protection
“What it essentially means is that the protection offered by estrogen in terms of cardiovascular for women is almost erased when a woman gets diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. So women are probably at risk of cardiovascular disease if they are getting treated for Type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Selvan added.
Dr. Selvan, who delivered a talk on ‘Bridging the Gap: Women-Centric Pathways in Metabolic Health, Obesity and Dyslipidemia’, said that women with diabetes are at more risk of getting coronary artery disease, stroke, dementia or end-stage renal disease compared to men.
“If you are trying to look at complications related to diabetes, and you are trying to look at the odds of getting complications based on whether you are woman, you can see that the odds of getting coronary artery disease, stroke, dementia or end-stage renal disease increases if you are woman with diabetes versus a man,” she said.
PCOS and diabetes
Dr. Selvan added that women who have Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at a young age are at an increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes and also cardiovascular diseases.
The two-day conference brought together leading experts from Ayurveda, modern medicine and allied scientific disciplines to deliberate on emerging challenges in the management of metabolic disorders.
Renowned national and international speakers participated in the conference.
Published – December 01, 2025 08:15 pm IST
