People with type 2 diabetes are more than twice as likely to be hospitalised with iron deficiency anaemia as the general population, a national study shows.

The surprise finding from a major data linkage study is just one example of how traditional diabetes complications leading to hospital admission are being replaced with lesser-recognised ailments among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

In addition to anaemia, the researchers have found mental health disorders, pneumonia and gastrointestinal diseases are now common reasons for admission for these patients.

The study findings, to be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual scientific meeting in Sweden later this month, suggest diabetes management strategies may need tweaking to counter the higher burden of ‘non-traditional’ complications.