Gender: does it have a role in bleeding time in Caucasians with well controlled type 2 diabetes?

Background: Bleeding times are decreased in type 2 diabetics presenting an enhanced risk of myocardial infarction and subsequent death. It is controversial whether males have a greater risk of myocardial infarction and resultant death in type 2 diabetes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to review the literature regarding gender in bleeding time and to test the hypothesis that there would be gender inequality in bleeding time in well-controlled Caucasian Type 2 diabetics in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This study revealed significantly shorter bleeding times in males. Thus it may be that males should be more aggressively treated to increase bleeding time and hence to more equitably manage the risk of myocardial infarction and subsequent death. Ultimately it will have to be determined what bleeding time thresholds are suitable for intervention and indeed what the most appropriate intervention is at each threshold and what role gender may play in these features in type 2 diabetics. However, this was only a very small study and a much larger one would answer whether there is gender inequality in bleeding time among persons with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.