While I realize there are many more factors involved, I believe that attitude plays a role in life expectancy. There is some research to back this up, and hopefully more will come around.
This article reports that life expectancy is now longer for people with type 1 diabetes than it’s been in the past. I think this is wonderful news! I was diagnosed in 1975, which the article reports is when people with type 1 were expected to live 27 years less than those without. No one told me that, thank goodness! I remember learning at some point that people with type 1 lived 15 years less than those without, but I never took that seriously. In fact, I used to joke with my husband, who is five years older than me, that there would only be five years’ difference between our deaths: men die five years earlier than women, he’s five years older, and I have type 1 diabetes (complicated math, I know).
But that was a joke and I honestly have no intention of dying early because of diabetes. I truly believe my attitude will determine that. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.