Abstract
Background and aimsMen and women have different type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risks, which have been reported across populations of different ethnicity. Where differences in T2DM risk for sex (biological) have been studied, research on gender (socio-cultural) and T2DM risk is lacking. We explored, in a multi-ethnic population, the association of six gender-related characteristics with incident T2DM over 3 years, and the mediation by known risk factors for T2DM. Methods and resultsWe included 9605 women and 7080 men of the multi-ethnic HELIUS study (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). We studied associations between gender-related characteristics and incident T2DM, using Cox regression. After a median of 3.0 years (IQR 2.0; 4.0), 198 (2.1%) women and 137 (1.9%) men developed T2DM. A lower T2DM risk was observed in those not being the primary earner (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.47; 0.93) and a higher desired level of social support (HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.44; 0.87). Hours spent on household work, home repairs, type of employment and male- or female-dominated occupation were not associated with T2DM incidence. No evidence for effect modification by biological sex or ethnicity was found. Known risk factors of T2DM did not mediate the observed associations. ConclusionGender-related characteristics, not being the primary earner and a higher desired social support were associated with reduced T2DM risk, and this was not mediated by known risk factors for T2DM.
Highlights
Differences in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk between men and women have been widely reported, in that men have a higher risk compared to women [1]
To take effect modification into account, the analyses of time spent on doing household work, time spent on home repairs and primary earner status was adjusted for household composition
Our study found that two out of six more feminine genderrelated characteristics were associated with T2DM risk, not being the primary earner, and desired emotional support, are associated with a decreased risk of T2DM
Summary
Differences in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk between men and women have been widely reported, in that men have a higher risk compared to women [1]. Conclusion: Gender-related characteristics, not being the primary earner and a higher desired social support were associated with reduced T2DM risk, and this was not mediated by known risk factors for T2DM.
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