All-Cause Mortality for Diabetics or Individuals with Hyperglycemia Applying for Life Insurance

Diabetics and individuals with lab results consistent with a diagnosis of diabetes or hyperglycemia were extracted from data covering US residents who applied for life insurance between January 2007 and January 2014. Information about these applicants was matched to the Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF) and another commercially available death source file to determine vital status. Due to the inconsistencies of reporting within the death files, there were two cohorts of death cases, one including the imputed year of birth (full cohort of deaths), and the second where the date of birth was known (reduced cohort of deaths). The study had approximately 8.5 million person-years of exposure. Actual to expected (A/E) mortality ratios were calculated using the Society of Actuaries 2008 Valuation Basic Table (2008VBT) select table, age last birthday and the 2010 US population as expected mortality rates. With the 2008VBT as an expected basis, the overall A/E mortality ratio was 3.15 for the full cohort of deaths and 2.56 for the reduced cohort of deaths. Using the US population as the expected basis, the overall A/E mortality ratio was 0.98 for the full cohort of deaths and 0.79 for the reduced cohort. Since there was no smoking status information in this study, all expected bases were not smoker distinct. A/E mortality ratios varied by disease treatment category and were considerably higher in individuals using insulin. A/E mortality ratios decreased with increasing age and took on a J-shaped distribution with increasing BMI (Body Mass Index). The lowest mortality ratios were observed for overweight and obese individuals. The A/E mortality ratio based on the 2008VBT decreased with the increase in applicant duration, which was defined as the time since initial life insurance application.