Risk Of Death, Major Disease High Following Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Type 2 diabetes dramatically increases a person’s short-term risk of death or life-threatening illness, a new study says.

Within five years of their diagnosis, patients with type 2 diabetes have a 33% increased risk of dying or developing kidney disease or heart failure, researchers are slated to report this week at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

That risk increases to 55% over 10 years, researchers added.

“Our findings clearly show how the serious complications associated with type 2 diabetes rise sharply over time as the often-common combination in patients of obesity, abnormal blood fats, high blood pressure and higher blood sugar damages blood vessels and vital organs,” lead researcher Naveed Sattar said in a news release. He is a professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Type 2 diabetes is projected to affect 1.3 billion people worldwide by 2050, researchers said in background notes. 

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on more than 1.6 million patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between January 2010 and March 2024. The patients’ average age was 59.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of them also had high cholesterol levels and more than two-thirds (68%) had high blood pressure, researchers found.

Results showed that many people who developed either heart failure or kidney disease wound up with the other condition in short order.

Type 2 diabetics with heart failure had a 42% risk of developing kidney disease within the next five years, and those with kidney disease had a 23% increased risk of heart failure during the same period.

“Our results emphasize the critical importance of detecting and treating type 2 diabetes thoroughly at the earliest opportunity to help reduce the risk of serious complications,” Sattar said.

The EASD meeting is being held in Milan. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on health complications from diabetes.

SOURCE: European Association for the Study of Diabetes, news release, Sept. 26, 2026