Adults with diabetes are vulnerable to flu and its complications, experts say. Now a large new study finds they're also at higher risk of being hospitalized for flu, Newsmax Health reports. 

The American Diabetes Association, the Canadian Diabetes Association and government agencies in both countries recommend flu shots for people with diabetes, said lead researcher Jeffrey Johnson, director of the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes at the University of Alberta.

To look at the effect of flu shots, Johnson and his colleagues used data on more than 160,000 men and women in Manitoba province from 2000 to 2008. Their average age was about 51.

People with diabetes tended to have more health problems than people without diabetes, the researchers found.

People with diabetes were more likely to get flu shots than people without the disease, the study showed. Even so, people with diabetes had 6 percent greater odds of being hospitalized for flu than those without diabetes.

For Johnson, one important question remains unanswered: Just how effective is the vaccine in preventing people with diabetes from getting the flu?

Dr. Spyros Mezitis, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said people with diabetes have weakened immune systems. "Diabetics are not as strong in defending themselves against disease, and that's why they need to get the flu vaccine," he said.

This is especially important for people at risk for complications from flu, including people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart or lung disease, and pregnant women, he said.