Blindness
Due to diabetic retinopathy. Each year 12,000 to 24,000
people lose their sight because of diabetes. Diabetes is the leading
cause of new blindness in people 20-74 years of age.
Kidney Disease
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2005. In 2005, 47,739 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In 2002, a total of 178,689 people with ESRD due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or kidney transplant.
Heart Disease and Stroke
Accounting for about 65% of deaths in people with diabetes. Adults with diabetes have heard disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes. The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher and the risk of death from stroke is 2.8 times higher among people with diabetes.
Nerve Disease and Amputations
About 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which in severe forms can lead to lower limb amputations. The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes. In 2004, about 71,000 nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occured in people with diabetes.
Sexual Dysfunction
Diabetes significantly increases the risk for sexual dysfunction in both men and women.
