ABSTRACT
Data on 746 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were collected from the Internal Medical Association in Himeji by questionnaire, and the patients were divided into six groups according to the duration of illness. Frequencies of various complications according to the duration of illness and risk factors of complications were compared between men and women. Although the number of male patients was 417, significantly more than the 329 female patients, many female patients were elderly, and the age at initial onset was about 10 years older than that of the male patients. Fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c levels increased with the duration of illness. The female patients showed a greater tendency to suffer from hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity than the male patients. There was positive correlation between the incidence of complications and duration of illness. This tendency was more marked in the female patients than in the male patients. Both male and female patients showed a tendency for microangiopathy to appear earlier than macroangiopathy. The increase in the frequency of complications accompanying the increase in the duration of illness was more marked for microangiopathy than for macroangiopathy.
