Common complications induced by diabetes.😰😰😰

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease. Diabetes can easily lead to other disorders. Most patients with diabetes generally have other unhealthy conditions or diseases, not just diabetes. Diabetes can also exacerbate these unhealthy conditions or diseases. Complications that diabetes can easily induce are pointed out below.

1. Eye disease.

Diabetes is a risk factor for many eye diseases.

Cataracts: Cataracts are closely related to age. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly. Apart from age-related, diabetes is also a risk factor for cataracts.

Glaucoma: People with diabetes are more likely to have glaucoma than people without diabetes.

Dry Eye: It is a very common eye disease. People with diabetes are also more likely to suffer from dry eye syndrome. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for dry eye disease.

2. Oral disease.

People with diabetes are more likely to have oral disease than people without diabetes. And they have a significantly increase in disease severity and duration. Diabetes is a risk factor for periodontitis. Periodontitis is also a common complication of diabetes. The risk of periodontitis in people with diabetes is nearly three times greater than in people without diabetes.

3. Kidney disease.

One of the main causes of chronic kidney disease is kidney disease caused by diabetes. Although the research on the pathogenesis and etiology of diabetic nephropathy is not complete, it is generally believed that it is caused by many risk factors, such as age, blood pressure, obesity, genetic susceptibility, glycemic control, glomerular filtration rate. 

4. Neuropathy.

Another common chronic complication of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy. Both the central and peripheral nerves may be affected. It is a heterogeneous group of diseases with a variety of different clinical manifestations. The most common diabetic peripheral neuropathy is distal symmetrical polyneuropathy. About 75% of diabetic neuropathy is this neuropathy, and it is one of the major risk factors for diabetic foot ulcers. It is also the leading cause of falls and fractures in people with diabetes.

5. Fractures.

People with diabetes have a significantly higher fracture risk than people without diabetes. Fractures in people with diabetes are not due to calcium or vitamin D deficiency. Some studies have pointed out that in the case of long-term hyperglycemia, changes in collagen cross-linking and glycosylation products can cause changes in the microstructure of bones. It causes bone to become brittle and more prone to fractures.

6. Mental illness.

Although mental illness is not a particularly common complication of diabetes, it can also occur due to the effects of diabetes on the central nervous system and cerebrovascular. Especially in older people with diabetes, they are prone to symptoms of memory loss and diabetes may exacerbate this condition. In addition, depression is the most common symptom of mental illness.

7. Cancer.

There are many studies showing that the risk of various cancers such as gastrointestinal cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, etc. is increased in diabetic patients. Among them, the risk of pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, endometrial cancer and breast cancer is more than twice that of the general population. In addition, studies have shown that for every 1% increase in HbA1c in diabetic patients, the risk of cancer will increase by 18%.

8. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

People with diabetes are more likely to have atherosclerosis and it progresses more rapidly than the normal population. It can in turn cause other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease. Studies have shown that patients with type 1 diabetes significantly increase the prevalence of myocardial infarction, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and atrial fibrillation. Increasing age and duration of diabetes also increases the prevalence of lower extremity atherosclerotic disease. It increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy may also occur in people with diabetes. The risk of stroke increases by 1.5 to 4 times with type 2 diabetes. One of the risk factors for stroke is diabetes. The risk of cerebrovascular disease such as ischemic stroke is highly correlated with type 2 diabetes and high levels of HbA1c.

9. Infection.

The risk of many infections, such as head and neck infections, respiratory infections, skin and soft tissue infections, gastrointestinal infections, blood infections, etc., is significantly increased with diabetes. Blood vessels and neuropathy in the distal lower extremities can lead to diabetic foot infections and ulcers in the feet of people with diabetes. Severe cases can lead to amputation and death.

10. Hepatobiliary disease.

Because people with diabetes have a higher area of visceral adipose tissue than normal people, they are more likely to develop hepatic steatosis, which can lead to liver disease. People with diabetes are also more likely to have gallstones.

11. Blood disease.

Adults with diabetes have a higher risk of anemia. It is related to the patient's gender, disease course and comorbidities. Women have a higher risk of anemia than men. Patients with longer disease duration and comorbidities are also more likely to develop anemia.

12. Others.

Diabetes increases or worsens the risk of many diseases such as thyroid disease, dementia, and electrolyte disturbances. Clinical treatment should also pay attention to these problems.