Original Article
Trends of mortality in diabetic patients in Taiwan: A nationwide survey in 2005–2014

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2019.07.008Get rights and content
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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
Trends
Taiwan

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