Norhammar, at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, and her team found that women younger than age 65 with diabetes mellitus are more prone to die after a heart attack. The female advantage with fewer cardiovascular events than in men at younger ages is attenuated once a woman has the diagnosis of diabetes," They sought to identify gender-related differences in prognosis, risk factors, or treatment among 25,555 patients younger than age of 65 treated for heart attack between 1995 and 2002. In this cohort, 23 percent were women and 21 percent of women and 16 percent of men were previously diagnosed with diabetes. During an average follow-up of 4.4 years, diabetic women had a 34 percent increased risk of dying, compared with diabetic men.