Diabetes Complications*

Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to some serious complications, including blindness, kidney disease, loss of limbs (medically necessary amputations), heart disease, stroke and nerve damage. In fact, heart disease and stroke account for approximately 68% of deaths in people with diabetes. Additionally, 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have some level of nervous system damage, including lack of feeling or pain in their feet or hands.¹

Compared to non-Hispanic whites, African Americans have more diabetes and complications of diabetes, such as blindness, kidney disease and amputations.²

• African Americans with diabetes are almost 50% more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy (the most common diabetic eye disease that can cause vision loss)
• African Americans with diabetes are about 3 to 6 times as likely to suffer from kidney disease with more than 4,000 new cases of end stage renal disease (ESRD) each year. ESRD typically requires dialysis treatment
• African Americans with diabetes are nearly 3 times as likely to suffer from lower-limb amputations because of their disease

*These statistics are for diabetes in general. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% to 95% of all cases of diagnosed diabetes in adults.