Complications of diabetes are secondary diseases that are a result of elevated blood glucose levels that occur in diabetic patients. These complications can be divided into two types: acute and chronic. Acute complications are complications that develop rapidly and can be exemplified as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS), lactic acidosis (LA), and hypoglycemia. Chronic complications develop over time and are generally classified in two categories: microvascular and macrovascular. Microvascular complications include neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy; while cardiovascular disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease are included in the macrovascular complications.[1]
One of the doctors I consulted regarding diabetic complications explained the emphasis on the severity of the complications was intended to highlight the consequences of not managing diabetes consistently and seriously. They described this approach as a classic “carrot and stick” strategy, failing to adhere to recommended diabetes management practices could result in serious consequences.
[1] Wikipedia, “Complications of Diabetes,” (2026).
Complications increase the cost of patient support, particularly when a public health system provides care and absorbs costs. In the United Kingdom, this would be the National Health Service (NHS), and in Ontario, Canada, where I live, it would be the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). During the three-year period of 2017/18 to 2019/20 – NHS related patient count was:
- 171,759-foot disease-related hospital admissions for patients with diabetes.
- 97,175 individual patients had a hospital admission for foot disease and 34% had more than one admission over the three years.
- 7,957 major amputations with a directly standardised rate of 8.1 major amputations per 10,000 population with diabetes per year.
- 21,738 minor amputations with a directly standardised rate of 22.1 minor amputations per 10,000 population with diabetes per year.
- Patients with diabetes that were male, from the most deprived areas, aged over 65 or of white ethnicity had greater risk of amputation.
Diabetic complications are serious medical conditions in their own right and may occur without diabetes being present. However, diabetes is the leading cause of most if not all. While I emphasize education, information and motivation as a means of preventing and reversing Type 2 Diabetes, this book aims to explain the serious consequences of not doing so.
