Introduction & module overview

Diabetes prevalence in the UK is estimated to rise to 5 million cases by 2025. Being diagnosed with diabetes is a life changing moment and there are also the long-term implications for a patient to take into consideration – not just the fact that the disease is lifelong, but also the increased risk of developing other related health problems. 

Some of the complications of diabetes are acute (e.g. hypoglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis), but others develop more gradually, such as the damage that can be caused to the eyes, kidneys, feet and nerves. Many of these problems can be delayed – or sometimes prevented – by maintaining good disease control. However, it is also important that complications are checked for on a regular basis to ensure that they don’t remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated. 

The long-term issues resulting from diabetes are not type-specific, although some are more prevalent in type 1 diabetes, while type 2 disease appears to increase the risk of certain complications. This module aims to help pharmacists understand the main microvascular complications of diabetes, so they can play a part in preventing and detecting them. 

Key facts

• Microvascular complications of diabetes result in a heavy cost to patients including loss of vision, lower limb amputations and reduced kidney function 
• Within 20 years of diagnosis, two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes and almost all of those with type 1 diabetes will have some degree of diabetic retinopathy
• There is much that can be done to delay or prevent complications in terms of lifestyle choices, disease management and monitoring
• Damage and therefore onset of symptoms can be very gradual and patients may not realise that their functioning has altered. Pharmacists should look out for this.