Actress Michelle Trachtenberg's Premature Death From Diabetes Reveals Dangers of Chronic Complications

On February 26, 2025, actress Michelle Trachtenberg died in her apartment at age 39 years. Trachtenberg was known for her roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, and Harriet the Spy. In April 2025, The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner announced that the sudden death was related to diabetes mellitus complications, according to toxicology results.¹

According to the International Diabetes Federation 2025 Diabetes Atlas, 590 million individuals, which is 11.1% of the adult population aged 20 to 79 years, have diabetes.² In 2021, diabetes directly caused 1.6 million deaths, with 47% of those occurring in individuals younger than 70 years.³

Trachtenberg’s death highlights the importance of identifying the dangers of diabetes that can lead to chronic complications and premature mortality, such as macrovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and post–transplantation diabetes mellitus.

Macrovascular Disease

The leading cause of death for adults with diabetes is macrovascular disease, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease; 42% of deaths related to diabetes complications are due to atherosclerotic disease.⁴

Diabetes is considered an equivalent of coronary heart disease because patients with diabetes have a risk for myocardial infarction similar to that of patients with a history of myocardial infarction.⁴ CT angiograms reveal that about 75% of patients with diabetes have some form of coronary artery disease.⁴

Chronic Kidney Disease

Constant high blood glucose levels from diabetes can damage blood vessels in the kidneys, which can lead to a reduction in kidney filtration efficiency, thus leading to chronic kidney disease. ⁴

Globally, kidney disease related to diabetes is the most common cause of end-stage kidney disease.⁴ Kidney disease is the ninth most prevalent cause of death in the United States.⁵

Post-Transplantation Diabetes Mellitus

According to media outlets, Trachtenberg underwent a liver transplant before her sudden death, which highlights the condition called post–liver transplantation diabetes mellitus (PLTDM).⁶

PLTDM develops in 30% of transplant recipients and is associated with reduced graft function, increased risk for transplant loss, and worsened patient survival.⁷

The primary risk comes from the use of immunosuppressive drugs after surgery, specifically calcineurin inhibitors such as tacrolimus, sirolimus, and cyclosporine. Of note, a 2021 study found that sirolimus-based immunosuppression was associated with a higher incidence of PLTDM.⁸

It is important to recognize the different dangers of diabetes to best protect patient populations from premature death.

References

1. Rosenbloom A. Michelle Trachtenberg’s cause of death revealed as complications from diabetes mellitus. CNN Entertainment. Updated April 16, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/entertainment/michelle-trachtenberg-cause-of-death/index.html
2. International Diabetes Federation. Facts and figures. International Diabetes Federation. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://idf.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/
3. World Health Organization. Diabetes. Key facts. World Health Organization. Updated November 14, 2024. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
4. Martinez LC, Zahra T. Chronic complications of diabetes. EMJ Diabet. 2022. Accessed April 21, 2025. Published online April 25, 2022. https://www.emjreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Chronic-Complications-of-Diabetes.pdf
5. Hashmi MF, Benjamin P, Lappin SL. End-stage renal disease. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, 2025. Updated August 28, 2023. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499861/
6. Blackwelder C, Leib M, Katersky A. ‘Buffy’ and ‘Gossip Girl’ actress Michelle Trachtenberg dead at 39. Culture. ABC News. Published February 26, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/buffy-gossip-girl-actress-michelle-trachtenberg-dead-39
7. Peláez-Jaramillo MJ, Cárdenas-Mojica AA, Gaete PV, Mendivil CO. Post-liver transplantation diabetes mellitus: a review of relevance and approach to treatment. Diab Ther. 2018;9:521-543. Published online February 6, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13300-018-0374-8
8. Lawendy B, Srinathan S, Kotha S, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of post-transplant diabetes mellitus in liver transplant recipients. Clin Transplant. 2021;35(7):e14340. Published online May 25, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/ctr.14340