Fig. 4

Disparities in the uptake and provision of healthcare may in part explain the excess risk of vascular disease in women with diabetes compared to their male counterparts. Potential differences in the uptake and provision of healthcare between the sexes may occur throughout the pathway—starting with healthy men and women being exposed to certain risk factors, at some point being diagnosed with diabetes and eventually developing cardiovascular complications—and may include, i.e., diagnostic delay, inadequate risk factor screening, disparities in adequate interventions, and non-adherence as shown by the arrows. The green-colored box displays normal glucose tolerance, and the red-colored boxes display negative events (i.e., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular complications) irrespective of the sexes