November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a great time to stop and remind ourselves about how deeply this condition can impact the body. Diabetes affects an estimated 38.4 million Americans and that population is increasing as the years go by. One in 3 Americans are living with prediabetes, elevated blood sugar that can be a precursor to diabetes. And because Type 2 diabetes can develop silently for years before a diagnosis, 80% of people who are deemed prediabetic don't even realize they’re at risk.
While modern treatments help people manage diabetes and live more comfortably, damage can quietly accumulate in the body long before symptoms appear. And many people don’t realize just how far-reaching the effects of diabetes can be. Here’s a closer look at how this chronic blood sugar imbalance can impact the entire body.
Cardiovascular system
High blood sugar can damage your blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart over time, leading to stiffening and narrowing (atherosclerosis). This increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure and puts you at a much greater risk of developing heart disease and at a younger age than people without diabetes. Since vascular changes happen gradually and often without symptoms, many people don’t realize they have heart complications until later stages.
Brain
Out-of-balance blood glucose levels can take a toll on brain health. Diabetes can damage blood vessels in the brain, increasing the risk of stroke and contributing to problems with memory, mood, and cognition over time. Research has also linked Type 2 diabetes to a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia with one study finding that people with type 2 diabetes had a 60% increased risk of developing dementia. Additionally, Prenuvo’s own internal research has shown that people with Type 2 diabetes have measurably lower total brain and white matter volumes even after accounting for age and body fat distribution. This suggests that diabetes may directly affect brain structure, potentially contributing to the cognitive decline seen in later years.
Related: 9 science-backed strategies to help maintain a healthy brain
Nervous system
Over time, high blood sugar can injure nerves throughout the body, causing a condition known as diabetic neuropathy. This occurs most often in the nerves of the legs and feet. Around 50% of people diagnosed with diabetes will go on to develop some sort of nerve damage. Symptoms often don’t begin until many years after a diabetes diagnosis. These signs typically begin as tingling, burning, or deep pain in the toes and feet. As it progresses, numbness can develop in the feet and legs. Diabetic nerve damage can also affect the nerves that control digestion, leading to swallowing problems, feeling full after only eating a small amount, nausea, digestive issues, and heartburn. It can also damage nerves in other areas of the body, which can lead to dizziness, sexual dysfunction, bladder issues, and excessive sweating.
Eyes
Diabetes can damage the eyes, leading to vision loss and even blindness. In fact, this vision loss, known as diabetic retinopathy, is the leading cause of blindness in working-age Americans. The longer you’ve had diabetes, the higher your chances of developing retinopathy. Almost everyone with diabetes will develop some form of retinopathy. At first, it may cause no symptoms or only mild vision issues but can progress to blindness especially if blood sugar is not carefully managed.
Related: 12 hidden conditions a whole body MRI can help detect before symptoms start
Kidneys
Chronically elevated blood sugar levels can cause the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys to become narrow and clogged. This can inhibit the amount of blood flow to the kidneys, which means they’ll be less efficient at filtering waste and extra fluid. Over time, this can lead to diabetic kidney disease (also called diabetic nephropathy), which affects 1 in 3 U.S. diabetics. It’s one of the most common and serious complications of diabetes and the leading cause of kidney failure in the United States. Kidney disease can happen gradually and often shows no symptoms until in later and more chronic stages.
Muscles and body composition
Diabetes doesn’t just affect your organs, it can take a toll on your body composition. Long-term high blood sugar and insulin resistance are linked to loss of lean muscle mass (a condition known as sarcopenia). Research shows that both men and women living with diabetes have lower bone mass and higher fracture risk than those without the condition. Diabetes can also increase your visceral fat, a dangerous type of fat that builds up around internal organs and can’t be measured with a regular scale.
Related: Why you should be tracking your body composition
Staying on top of diabetes is key
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the entire body, often in ways that go unnoticed for years. Its potential complications which range from nerve damage to shifts in body composition can develop quietly, long before signs appear. And once identified, issues like blood vessel damage may have already shifted into more serious stages like chronic kidney disease.
But there’s reassuring news. Many diabetes-related complications are manageable and even preventable with proactive care. That’s why it’s so important to take a whole comprehensive look at your health and track changes over time. Prenuvo’s Whole Body Scan helps detect hundreds of conditions and has the potential to help identify subtle signs of imbalances even before symptoms occur.
Together Prenuvo’s Whole Body Scan, Body Composition Analysis, Brain Health Assessment, and advanced blood biomarkers can help detect:
- Organ changes
- Inflammation
- Visceral fat distribution
- Neuropathy-related abnormalities
- Early brain volume loss
- And more…
Related: What can a whole body MRI actually detect?
These insights can be especially valuable for people living with diabetes or those diagnosed as prediabetic by helping understand how the condition may be impacting their entire body. Repeat scans can also help you measure how your lifestyle habits may be working and visualize changes over time.
To learn more about the benefits of a Prenuvo, book a call with a member of our care team.
