Type 1 Diabetes: Complications
Over time, high blood glucose levels can cause damage to virtually every organ system of the body, including:
Achieving good control over blood glucose levels with insulin and healthy lifestyle changes is the best way to prevent or slow diabetes-related complications. According to the 2006 report released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), an estimated three out of five Americans with diabetes (57.9 percent) have one or more complicatons associated with diabetes. However, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a landmark ten-year study of the impact of good blood sugar control on complications associated with type 1 diabetes, found that for every 1 percentage point a patient reduces their A1c (i.e., three-month blood glucose average), they lower their risk of microvascular complications 37%. The study also found that keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible slowed the progression of diabetes-related eye, kidney, and nerve diseases.
SOURCE:
1 - National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Diabetes Overview. (Accessed 2/19/08).
2 - Centers for Disease Control. Chronic Disease Prevention. (Accessed 2/19/08).