What are the complications of diabetes?

  Complications of diabetes are divided into microvascular complications and macrovascular complications. The Chronic Complications Investigation Group of the Chinese Medical Association’s Diabetes Division reported that the prevalence of complications of inpatient type 2 diabetes was 34.2% for hypertension, 12.6% for cerebrovascular disease, 17.1% for cardiovascular disease, and 5.2% for lower limb vascular disease.  The “China Heart Survey” study found that diabetes is an important co-morbidity of coronary heart disease: 75% of pre-diabetic and diabetic patients with coronary heart disease are missed by fasting glucose testing alone; the proportion of post-load hyperglycemia is higher in Chinese coronary heart disease population. Lower extremity arterial lesions manifest as narrowing and occlusion of lower extremity arteries, often involving small and medium-sized arteries such as the deep femoral artery and anterior tibial artery, mainly due to atherosclerosis, which is the direct cause of lower extremity amputation in diabetic patients.  Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in the adult population. In adult patients with type 2 diabetes, approximately 20-40% develop retinopathy and 8% have severe vision loss, and its prevalence increases with disease duration and age. Diabetic nephropathy is a common cause of chronic renal failure and has a high prevalence in the Asia-Pacific region. Data from domestic studies show that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes complicated by nephropathy is 34.7%.  Clinically significant diabetic neuropathy is often evident within 10 years of diabetes diagnosis, and its incidence correlates with the duration of the disease. Neurological function tests reveal varying degrees of neuropathy in 60-90% of patients, of which 30-40% are asymptomatic. The prevalence of neuropathy is higher in patients with diabetes who smoke, are older than 40 years, and have poor glycemic control.