Baylor Dallas News

Diabetes may start in the pancreas, but its effects can quickly spread throughout the body. Keeping the disease under control—with diet, exercise, weight loss and medication—can help stave off its head-to-toe side effects, which include:

Brain: Depression strikes 15 percent to 20 percent of people with diabetes, making it difficult to follow the healthy-living recommendations that can help you manage the condition.

Eyes: High blood glucose levels and high blood pressure—both common in people with diabetes—can damage the tiny, sensitive blood vessels in the eyes, leading to vision loss and blindness.

Heart: People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease and stroke than those without diabetes. They also tend to develop these problems at younger ages than other people.

Digestive system: Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to damage in the nerves that help control digestion leading to heartburn, bloating, nausea, changes in bowel and bladder function, as well as urinary tract infections.

Kidneys: Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure, responsible for 44 percent of cases. While kidney failure builds gradually over many years, ultimately people need either dialysis or a kidney transplant to treat it.

Sexual organs: Both men and women with diabetes may see changes in their sexual response, and between 35 percent and 50 percent of men with diabetes develop erectile dysfunction.

Legs: Diabetic nerve damage can lead to pain in the thighs, hips and buttocks and cause weakness in the legs.

Hands and feet: About 60 percent to 70 percent of people with diabetes develop nerve damage, most commonly in the hands and feet, causing pain or loss of sensation, the latter of which can result in open sores, ulcers and infections of which the patient is unaware.

Early detection is key to controlling diabetes. Ask your doctor if your blood sugar levels should be checked—the American Diabetes Association recommends routine screening for people age 45 and older.

To find out more about diabetes prevention and treatment at Baylor Dallas, click here.