“What is the average life expectancy of a diabetic?”
I am a 17 year old male. I want to know what is the average life expectancy of a diabetic?
3 Answers
Endocrinology-DiabetesEndocrinology-Diabetes
As long as you take care of yourself and make sure to control your glucose levels, there is no limit. I have a patient who has been a type one diabetic for over 70 years. When she was first diagnosed with diabetes, there were no such things as glucose meters; she had to urinate on test strips to check her glucose levels. When she was first diagnosed, insulin was extracted from cows or pigs. Currently, she’s in her early 80s and has an A1 C of 5.9% and you would never know she was a diabetic unless she told you.
Type 1 Diabetes can shorten lifespan by 16 years. Type 2 Diabetes can shorten lifespan by 12 years. These are average figures. With good care diabetic lifespan can be normal.
Edward N. Smolar, MD
Edward N. Smolar, MD