What Increases Your Risk

Now that you have type 2 diabetes, it's important to know what could increase your risk of complications.

• Your blood sugar stays high over time. Your risk for complications increases if your blood sugar gets too high and stays high too long.
• You have had the disease for a long time. The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to have some related health problems. This can happen even if your blood sugar levels are controlled.
  • Kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy) occurs in 20 to 30 out of 100 people who have type 2 diabetes.¹
  • Eye disease (diabetic retinopathy) occurs within 20 years after diagnosis in more than 60 out of 100 people who have type 2 diabetes.²
  • Most people with diabetes start to get some nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy) over the years. But only about half of the people who get neuropathy have noticeable symptoms.³
• You already have one complication. If you have one diabetes-related problem, you are at a higher risk for getting another one.
• You have other risk factors, such as:
  • Smoking.
  • High blood pressure.
  • High cholesterol.

For more information, see the Prevention and Home Treatment sections of this topic.