Cardiovascular Disease: Diabetes significantly increases the risk of various cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke, and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis).

Nerve Damage (Neuropathy): Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning, or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward.

Kidney Damage (Nephropathy): The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters that filter waste from your blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate filtering system. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Eye Damage (Retinopathy): Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina (diabetic retinopathy), potentially leading to blindness. It also increases the risk of other serious vision conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma.

Foot Damage: Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become serious infections, which may heal poorly. Severe damage might require toe, foot, or leg amputation.

Skin Conditions: Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.

Hearing Impairment: Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.

Alzheimer's Disease: Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. The poorer your blood sugar control, the greater the risk appears to be.