Diabetes Health Center

Font Size

The Risks and Complications of Uncontrolled Diabetes

If not controlled, diabetes can put you at risk for a host of complications that can affect nearly every organ in the body. They include:

The heart and blood vessels
The eyes
The kidneys
The nerves
The gums and teeth

Heart Disease, Blood Vessel Disease, and Diabetes

Heart disease and blood vessel disease are the biggest complications that people with uncontrolled diabetes face. Approximately 65% of death from diabetes is due to heart disease and stroke. Diabetes can also cause poor blood flow in the legs and feet (peripheral artery disease).

Many studies show that controlling diabetes can prevent or stop the progression of heart and blood vessel disease.

Blood vessel damage or nerve damage (see below) may also lead to foot problems that can lead to amputations. More than 60% of leg and foot amputations not related to an injury are due to diabetes.

Diabetes and the Eyes

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. It can cause a number of eye problems, some of which can lead to blindness if not addressed. The eye disorders include:

Glaucoma
Cataracts
Diabetic retinopathy

Studies show that regular eye exams and timely treatment of diabetes-related eye problems could prevent up to 90% of diabetes-related blindness.

Kidney Disease and Diabetes

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in adults in the U.S. Drugs that lower blood pressure (even if you don't have high blood pressure) can lower risk of kidney failure by 33%.

Diabetes and Your Nerves

Over time, high blood sugar levels can harm the nerves. This can lead to loss of sensation or feeling (usually starting in the toes) or pain and burning of the feet.

Diabetes-related nerve damage can also cause pain in the legs, arms, and hands, and can cause problems with digestion, going to the bathroom, or having sex.

Diabetes and Your Teeth

People with diabetes are at high risk for gum disease. Keeping your diabetes under control, seeing your dentist regularly, and taking good daily care of your teeth can prevent gum disease and tooth loss.

What Causes These Complications of Diabetes?

Diabetes complications are caused by damage to the blood vessels, nerves, or both.

What Are the Symptoms of Diabetes Complications?

Symptoms vary depending on the diabetes complication that you have. You may have:

No symptoms if you have heart disease or atherosclerosis of a large blood vessel, unless you have a heart attack or stoke. Disease of the large blood vessels in your legs may cause problems with blood circulation, leading to leg cramps, changes in skin color, and decreased sensation.
Vision problems, vision loss, or pain in your eye if you have diabetic eye disease
No symptoms if you have early diabetes-related kidney disease. Swelling of the legs and feet occur in more advanced stages of kidney failure.
Tingling, numbness, burning, or shooting or stabbing pain in the feet, hands, or other parts of your body, if the nerves are affected by diabetes (peripheral diabetic neuropathy). If the nerves that control internal organs are damaged (autonomic neuropathy), you may have sexual problems, digestive problems (a condition called gastroparesis); difficulty sensing when your bladder is full; dizziness, fainting, or difficulty knowing when your blood sugar is low.