What are the major complications of diabetes?

The major complications of diabetes include the following:

• Heart disease and stroke: Adults with diabetes have death rates from cardiovascular disease about two to four times higher than adults without diabetes.
• High blood pressure: About 75 percent of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure.Blindness: Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults.
• Kidney disease: Diabetes is the leading reason why people need to go on dialysis, accounting for 43 percent of new cases.
• Nervous system disease: About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.
• Amputations: More than 60 percent of lower-limb amputations in the United States occur among people with diabetes.
• Periodontal disease: Almost one third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal (gum) disease.
• Pain: Many diabetics fall victim to chronic pain due to conditions such as arthritis, neuropathy, circulatory insufficiency, or fibromyalgia.
• Depression is a common accompaniment of diabetes. Clinical depression can often begin to occur even years before diabetes is fully evident. As well, depression is difficult to treat in poorly controlled diabetics.

Autoimmune disorders: Thyroid disease, inflammatory arthritis, and other diseases of the immune system commonly add to the suffering of diabetes.