Recognising risks

Being diagnosed with diabetes is a life changing moment and there are long-term implications to be taken into consideration. Those diagnosed need to understand the increased risk of developing other related health problems. 

Some complications of diabetes are acute (e.g. hypoglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis), but others develop more gradually, such as the damage that can be caused to the eyes, kidneys, feet and nerves. Many of these can be delayed – or sometimes prevented – by maintaining good diabetic control, but it is also important that these complications are checked for on a regular basis to ensure they are not going undiagnosed and therefore untreated. The long-term issues of diabetes are not type-specific, although some are more prevalent in individuals with type 1 diabetes, while type 2 diabetes appears to more greatly increase the risk of others.