Current diabetes treatment lacks the gender-specific equation, says Kautzky-Willer: "The various medicines and treatments have different side effects and effects on men and women. This isn't thought about in most cases – or doctors aren't aware of the issue."

The international guidelines on the drug-based therapy of diabetes mellitus specify which factors need to be taken into account during treatment. Factors such as age, the duration of the condition, life expectancy, the social environment and co-morbidities all have a part to play.

"What's missing in this checklist, however, is gender," states Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, expert in gender medicine at the MedUni Vienna, in the run-up to the 7th annual conference of the Austrian Society for Gender-Specific Medicine, which is being held next Friday in Vienna.