Background/purpose: Diabetes mellitus has become a major cause of death worldwide. Many technologies have become available for managing diabetes and its complications. This study investigated the mortality trends in people with diabetes in Taiwan between 2005 and 2014.
Methods: We used data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, which is linked to the National Death Registry. Patients with at least three outpatient visits in 1 year or at least one hospital admission with the diagnosis of diabetes (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] 250.x) were defined as diabetic patients. The main causes of death were classified using ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM.
Results: In 2005-2014, the number of diabetic patients increased from 1.3 to 2.2 million in Taiwan, and all-cause mortality in the patients decreased continuously across sexes and age groups (all, 3.45%-3.00%; women, 3.07%-2.70%; men, 3.82%-3.28%, all p < 0.001 for trends). The diabetic patients exhibited a shorter life expectancy than the entire population. The differences decreased from 2005 to 2014 (p < 0.001) and were greater when diabetes was diagnosed early in life. In 2014, the estimated loss of life was 2.6 and 3.2 years in the women and men, respectively, when diabetes was diagnosed at 40 years of age. The top five causes of death in diabetic patients were malignancy, diabetes, heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and pneumonia.
Conclusion: The mortality and estimated loss of life of diabetic patients decreased significantly from 2005 to 2014, reflecting advancements in diabetes care in Taiwan.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Health surveys; Mortality; Taiwan; Trends.
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