Last Updated on April 11, 2024
A large-scale study has revealed some interesting news for type 2 diabetics. A recent study that was released in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found a link between diabetics that got the flu vaccine and cardiovascular complications.
The study was completed by the Imperial College London and looked over type 2 diabetics data over a 7-year period. 
They gathered data from 300 different family physicians. The researchers looked at the rate of hospital admissions connected to strokes, heart attacks, the flu, and the causes of death. The data was collected from patient visits from September of 2003 all the way till August of 2010.
The results from the analysis are exciting for diabetics. They found that type 2 diabetics that had gotten the vaccine had a 30% less chance of going to the hospital because of a stroke. Type 2 diabetics with the vaccine were also less likely to for hospitalized for heart failure by 22% and 15% less likely to go to the hospital for the flu or pneumonia.
The researchers from the study tried to eliminate the variables that could impact the results. One of these ways by looking at data in the summer, when flu cases are lower, and they also acknowledge that some of the results could be skewed from elderly patients that have a lower immune system and tend to have more complications from the flu.
The whole study looked at data from over 120,000 patients. To get the most accurate results from the study, the team adjusted for factors like how long the patients had been diagnosed with diabetes, other health conditions, and prescriptions that take, age, sex, tobacco usage, blood pressure, and if the patients have gotten the flu shot in previous years.
The interesting part of the study was that the vaccine group tended to be older and sicker than the patients that didn’t get the shot, but the vaccine group still had lower cholesterol and glycosylated hemoglobin and had a lower risk of death during the flu season, even though they were considered “less healthy.”
In an interview with Fox News, Dr. Eszter Vamos, who was a lead author on the study said, “The Potential impact of influenza vaccine to reduce serious illness and death highlight the importance to renew efforts to ensure that people with diabetes receive the flu vaccine every year.” Dr. Vamos goes on to reinforce the idea of diabetics and other people with serious health conditions should have vacation for the flu and other preventable conditions.
Flu Shots and Type 2 Diabetes
This study is just one more reason that diabetics should get the flu shot every year. Not only does it lower your chances of getting the flu, but it is also going to lower your risk of having heart complications as well. It’s a win-win.
If you plan on getting the flu shot, the best time is at the beginning of September. The vaccine will take a couple of weeks before it is effective. Don’t wait until it’s too late and in the middle of flu season to get your vaccination.
