Mortality among people with type 2 diabetes in Germany

BackgroundWith some 415 million people affected worldwide, type2 diabetes has already been called the probably biggest epidemic in human history. Besides behavioral and environmental factors, demographic changes are the main drivers of the rise in type2 diabetes cases. The disease burden caused by type2 diabetes is partly due to increased mortality compared to people without type2 diabetes.ObjectivesTo summarize current studies on mortality among people with type-2-diabetes in Germany.Materials and methodsRelevant studies were searched in MEDLINE via the search platform PUBMED, and these were then thematically categorized and summarized.ResultsThe mortality rate among people with type2 diabetes is two- to three-fold higher than mortality in people without type2 diabetes. Evidence suggests that women experience ahigher excess mortality than do men. With increasing age, excess mortality attenuates. The number of diabetes-related deaths in Germany in 2010 totals 138,000 cases (16% of all deaths). Compared to other countries, this excess mortality is comparatively high.ConclusionsDue to projected increases in type2 diabetes cases, the number of diabetes-related deaths will probably also increase. Primary and secondary prevention should be implemented to counteract the future mortality burden due to type2 diabetes. Given the national and international dynamics of the diabetes epidemic, there is an urgent need to improve the availability of data with regard to type2 diabetes-related mortality in Germany.