Abstract
Today, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus affect 33.3 million people in the United States and nearly 500 million adults worldwide, and there is concern that this number may increase steadily in the future. Previous studies have linked the development of type 2 diabetes to multiple lifestyle factors, including physical activity level and diet, and biological characteristics, such as body composition, age, and race; however, current research suggests that gender may also have an impact on one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Variations in type 2 diabetes diagnosis, prevalence, and progression have been found between males and females. These variations stem from distinctions in testosterone, estrogen, and leptin hormone levels, incongruity in health practices, differences in physical size and shape, and factors that only affect those who are biologically female, such as age of menstruation or menopause and the presence of gestational diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome. This literature review aims to summarize the current literature discussing these factors. Using the search engine PubMed, and applicable search terms such as “type 2 diabetes,” “gender,” “sex hormones,” and “diabetes and age of menarche/menopause,” we found information about diabetes risk specific to females and general risk factors that vary for both males and females. Through our investigation, we have reasons to believe that the probability of developing type 2 diabetes has some association with one’s biological sex and specifically the hormones involved. It is our hope that this work will provide useful information to researchers of basic and public health sciences, physicians, nutritional practitioners, people with diabetes, and students in biomedical fields.
Keywords
Type 2 diabetes, Gender, Disease stages, Risk factors, Race, Lifestyle