The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the flu vaccine kept 79,000 people out of the hospital and prevented 6.6 million illnesses during the 2012-2013 flu season. (1) The best way to protect yourself from the flu is to get vaccinated, and this especially rings true for adults with diabetes.

 

Diabetic adults are more vulnerable to the flu and all of the problems the illness can bring. In fact, a large, recent study shows that the risk of being hospitalized for the flu is higher for adults with diabetes. (2) Those with diabetes also tended to have more complications related to having the flu such as pneumonia and death. During the study, data from more than 160,000 men and women from 2000 to 2008 was analyzed. The group ranged in age from 18 to 64 with the average age being 51.

 

The recommendation in the United States is that everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot.

 

Sources:

 

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimated Influenza Illnesses and Hospitalizations Averted by Influenza Vaccination — United States, 2012–13 Influenza Season. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, December 13, 2013: 62(49); 997-1000.

 

  1. Lau D, Eurich D, Majumdar S, Katz A, Johnson J. Working-age adults with diabetes experience greater susceptibility to seasonal influenza: a population-based cohort study. Diabetologia, Received: 18 June 2013 /Accepted: 9 December 2013. Published online 24 January 2014. DOI 10.1007/s00125-013-3158-8.

Diabetes & Flu