The Psychosocial Impact of Diabetes and its Management in Women: A Review of Current Status

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic debilitating disease affecting 463 million people which accounts for 9.3% of the population globally as of 2019. Although diabetes affects men and women equally (prevalence in men: 9.6%, women: 9%), women are more severely impacted by its complications such as heart disease, retinopathy, and neuropathy. This gender difference in consequences of DM may be due to biological reasons, it is also a reality that globally women tend to receive less intensive care and treatment for diabetes compared to men. In low-income countries, women suffer unduly from economic, political, and social discrimination, and subsequently from poor health, lack of education, and employment.