What causes long-term complications?

The risk of long-term complications of diabetes is greater if blood glucose levels are high over a long period.

Having occasional high levels is normal, as it’s very hard to keep your pre-meal blood glucose between 4 and 7 mmol/L all the time. If your blood glucose is consistently high and your HbA1c is over 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) for long periods of time, it can cause damage to your blood vessels and cells. 

There are other factors that also contribute to your risk of developing complications such as:

Smoking

High blood pressure

High cholesterol

We’ll cover these topics in more detail in the following topics and section of the course.

The good news is that long-term complications of diabetes can largely be avoided. It is a matter of understanding what they are, how they occur, and what to do about them. In the rest of this section, we will go through each complication and what to do to reduce your risk.