Summary
A systematic 20-year follow-up study of 1,221 diabetic patients was carried out in Osaka, Japan. The mean annual mortality rates were 2.55% for men and 1.64% for women. The ratios of observed to expected numbers of deaths were 1.50 for men and 1.39 for women, indicating an excess mortality for diabetic patients of both sexes, and higher mortality in men than in women. Factors that predisposed diabetic patients to premature death were early age of onset, albuminuria, diabetic retinopathy and fasting glucose level > 11.1 mmol/l at the initial examination. Insulin dependence was also associated with poor prognosis. Cerebro-cardiovascular and renal diseases were the major causes of death in the diabetic patients; heart disease was the cause of death in 16.9%, cerebrovascular disease in 16.4% and renal disease in 11.9%. The relatively high incidence of renal disease as cause of death in diabetic patients was striking. Malignant neoplasms of liver and of pancreas and cirrhosis were also associated with increased ratio of observed to expected number of deaths in the patients.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Marks HH (1965) Longevity and mortality of diabetics. Am J Publ Hlth 55: 416–423
Hirohata T, MacMahon B, Root HF (1967) The natural history of diabetes. I. Mortality. Diabetes 16: 875–881
Bale GS, Entmacher PS (1977) Estimated life expectancy of diabetics. Diabetes 13: 373–377
Panzram G, Zabel-Langhennig R (1981) Prognosis of diabetes mellitus in a geographically defined population. Diabetologia 20: 587–591
Kessler I (1971) Mortality experience of diabetic patients. A twenty-six year follow-up study. Amer J Med 51: 715–724
Kólewski AS, Czyzyk A, Janeczko D, Kopczynski J (1977) Mortality from cardiovascular disease among diabetics. Diabetologia 13: 345–350
Garcia MJ, McNamara PM, Gordon T, Kannel WB (1974) Morbidity and mortality in diabetics in the Framingham population. Sixteen year follow-up study. Diabetes 23: 105–111
Pell S, D'Alonzo CA (1970) Factors associated with long-term survival of diabetics. JAMA 214: 1833–1840
Birmingham Diabetes Survey Working Party (1976) Ten-year follow-up report on Birmingham Diabetes Survey of 1961. Brit Med J 2: 35–37
Blackard WG, Omori Y, Freeman LR (1965) Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in Japan. J Chron Dis 18: 415–427
Sasaki A, Suzuki T, Horiuchi N (1980) Survival rates and causes of death of diabetics in Japan. A 10-year follow-up study. J Chron Dis 33: 341–346
Sasaki A, Kamado K, Horiuchi N (1978) A changing pattern of causes of death in Japanese diabetics. Observation over fifteen years. J Chron Dis 31: 433–444
Minowa S, Takahashi S, Mayuzumi N, Miyashita H (1962) Studies on the standard body weight for Japanese adults. Jpn Med J No 1988: 24–30
Marks HH, Krall LP (1971) Onset, course, prognosis and mortality in diabetes mellitus. In: Marble A, White P, Bradly RF, Krall LP (eds) Joslin's diabetes mellitus. 11th ed, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, pp 209–254
Gottlieb MS (1974) The natural history of diabetes: factors present at time of diagnosis which may be predictive of lenth of survival. J Chron Dis 27: 435–445
Hirata Y, Mihara T (1976) Principal causes of death among diabetic patients in Japan from 1968–1970. In: Baba S, Goto Y, Fukui I (eds) Diabetes mellitus in Asia. International Congress Series No 221. Exerpta Medica, Amsterdam, pp 91–97
Mihara T, Ohashi H, Hirata Y (1982) A prospective study of 1,692 diabetics in Tokyo. In: Melish JS, Hanna J, Baba S (eds) Genetic environmental interaction in diabetes mellitus. International Congress Series No 549. Excerpta Medica, Amsterdam, pp 107–111
US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1971) Diabetes mellitus in the United States 1950–1967. Public Health Publication No 1000-Series 20, No 10
Tokuhata GK, Miller W, Digon S, Hartman T (1975) Diabetes mellitus: an underestimated public health problem. J Chron Dis 28: 23–35
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sasaki, A., Uehara, M., Horiuchi, N. et al. A long-term follow-up study of Japanese diabetic patients: Mortality and causes of death. Diabetologia 25, 309–312 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00253191
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00253191