Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and the seventh leading cause of death from complications of the disease, killing about 190,000 people annually. Complications of diabetes include:

Blindness - 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 - Ten to twenty-one percent of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease. Diabetic nephropathy is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a condition where the patient requires dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to live. Diabetes accounts for 40 percent of new ESRD cases each year.

Heart Disease and Stroke - People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease (more than 77,000 deaths due to heart disease annually). Heart disease death rates are also two to four times as high as adults without diabetes. And, people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer a stroke.

Nerve Disease/Amputations - About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage, which in severe forms can lead to lower limb amputations. Diabetes is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations. The risk of a leg amputation is 15-40 times greater for a person with diabetes. Each year, 56,200 people lose their foot or leg to diabetes.

Impotence - Some 13 percent of men who have Type 1 Diabetes and 8 percent of men who have type 2 diabetes are afflicted with impotence due to diabetic neuropathy or blood vessel blockage

Nephropathy - The presence of diabetic nephropathy is a significant risk marker for cardiovascular disease. Once clinical albuminuria occurs, the risk for ESRD is high in Type 1 Diabetes and significant in Type 2 Diabetes. If untreated, hypertension can hasten the progression of renal disease. A number of interventions have been demonstrated to retard the initial development or rate of progression of renal disease. Quantitative microalbumin testing plays a major role in early detection.

Cardiovascular Disease - People with diabetes have a high rate of macrovascular disease and those with the disease have a high mortality rate. This complication of diabetes is thought to be due to a high level of risk factors such as lipids and to other biological factors intrinsic to diabetes. High lipid levels are modifiable risk factors and should be monitored. Other correctable contributing risk factors include hypertension, obesity, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, dyslipidemia, and poorly regulated diabetes. The daily intake of aspirin has been shown to reduce cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes.

Dyslipidemia - Diabetes increases the risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease. This risk is greatest in people who have other known risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, and obesity. Furthermore, in Type 2 Diabetes there is an increased risk for obesity and lipid abnormalities independent of the level of glycemic control.