Diabetics' education level may sway death risk

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Type 2 diabetics with a college degree may have a lower risk of premature death than those with only a high school diploma, a new study suggests.

The findings support the idea that education level makes a difference in how well people with type 2 diabetes are able to control their blood sugar -- and, therefore, prevent diabetes complications, according to the report in the May issue of Diabetes Care.

People with type 2 diabetes do not metabolize glucose, or sugar, efficiently because their bodies do not properly respond to the glucose-regulating hormone insulin. Uncontrolled blood sugar can eventually lead to diabetes complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, blindness and nerve damage that can lead to amputations.

Overall, diabetics have a higher risk of death compared with non-diabetics their age. But research also suggests that among people with diabetes, socioeconomic status -- which is related to education -- influences death risk.

To look at the relationship between education and death risk among diabetics, Dr. Ronald P. Wilder of the University of South Carolina in Columbia analyzed data on nearly 2,400 men and women with type 2 diabetes. Participants were about 62 years old, on average.

He found that death risk appeared to decline as education level rose -- participants who graduated college or pursued post-grad education had a lower death rate than high school graduates.

Family income, Wilder found, was not related to death risk, nor was race or marital status. As expected, he notes in the report, increasing age and duration of diabetes did raise the odds of death.

According to the researcher, the findings support the idea that education increases a person's ability to "invest" in his or her health.

"Education may also be a factor in the relatively poor health status and outcomes of adults with diabetes," he writes.

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