DOES diabetes affect women differently from men? A new survey released to coincide with this week's World Diabetes Day suggests that it does.

The International Women's Diabetes Survey found that the role of women as family carer is negatively affected if they have diabetes themselves or look after someone else with the condition.

Women with diabetes identified their main problems as the dietary restrictions needed to control the disease, constant fatigue, and fear of complications such as blindness.

They are also more likely than men to experience a host of serious diabetes-related complications, including infectious diseases, heart disease, anorexia and depression.

Diabetes is a condition affecting the body's ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood sugar to be used for energy.

Cases in the Western world are reaching an epidemic rate, with the biggest increase in type two diabetes, sometimes called adult onset. Ninety per cent of people with diabetes have type two, and women are more likely than men to suffer from it.

Dr David Kerr, consultant diabetologist at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust, said: "Type two diabetes is particularly bad news for women because they lose their normal protection against heart attacks and strokes. Their risk is that of a man without diabetes who has already had a heart attack.

"Modern treatment often involves taking numerous medications to control blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. For women, diet shouldn't be a problem - it's a healthy diet. A positive approach with diet and exercise will benefit the whole family.

"The majority of people with diabetes are overweight and should be making attempts to lose weight. If they can lose five to 10 per cent of their body weight, they will significantly reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke."

Dr Kerr stressed: "There's no such thing as mild diabetes. Either you have it or you don't. The good news is that you can prevent it, and once you have got it, you can keep it under control with a combination of lifestyle changes and modern medicines."

He added that anyone at risk of type two diabetes could reduce their chances of developing the disease by 60 per cent over three years by shedding between five and 10 per cent of their body weight and walking for 150 minutes a week.

Professor Sir George Alberti, president of the International Diabetes Federation, said: "Women have a different experience of diabetes to men.

"In addition, in many cultures the role of the woman is pivotal in the family unit, so if a woman develops long-term complications such as deterioration of eyesight, this can have a huge impact on her family life."

The International Women's Diabetes Survey was carried out on behalf of diabetes care company Novo Nordisk.