Diabetes is a result of a metabolic disorder where lack of insulin in the body's cells causes an increase of glucose in the bloodstream. Excess glucose damages blood vessels and nerves and causes health risks such as kidney failure, eye problems, heart disease and neuropathies (nerve damage). Types of diabetes include juvenile (Type I) diabetes, Type II diabetes and gestational diabetes.
Eye Complications
Eye complications are a high health risk for diabetics. People with diabetes run a 40 percent higher risk of developing glaucoma than non-diabetics, reports the American Diabetes Association. Glaucoma is the buildup of pressure in the eye that causes damage to the optic nerve. Diabetics are 60 percent more likely than non-diabetics to develop cataracts. Cataracts also appear at an earlier age in people with diabetes.
Heart Disease and Stroke
People with diabetes run a risk twice as high to develop some type of heart disease and stroke compared to people without diabetes. The complications of diabetes responsible for the most deaths among diabetics are heart disease and stroke, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Any additional risk factor, such as obesity, elevated blood cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, increases the chance for a diabetic more than a non-diabetic to experience some type of heart disease.
Kidney Disease
Kidney disease occurs when the tiny blood vessels that filter out the waste quit functioning properly. The high levels of blood sugar from diabetes can cause damage to the kidneys and result in the loss of filtering ability. Early diagnosis and treatment may prevent complete kidney failure. Diabetes as the most common cause of kidney failure, reports the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.
Diabetic Neuropathy
Diabetic neuropathy is a health risk for diabetics. Diabetic neuropathies affect different parts of the body, depending on the specific nerve involved. Peripheral neuropathy, the most common type of diabetic neuropathies, affects the extremities (hands, arms, toes, legs and feet). Symptoms include numbness, pain or tingling of the extremities.
Skin Disorders
Skin disorders affect about one-third of people with diabetes. Diabetes causes a loss of body fluid, and that makes the skin dry and itchy. Dry, cracked skin is an open source for infection. Germs and infections proliferate when the glucose in the blood is high. Health risks such as bacterial infections include styes, boils, infection of hair follicles and infection around the nails, the American Diabetes Association. Fungal infections common to diabetes include athlete's foot and jock itch.
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