Key takeaways

  • Unmanaged type 2 diabetes can shorten your life expectancy due to complications like heart disease and kidney failure, but proper management can significantly reduce these risks.
  • Key risk factors that affect life expectancy with type 2 diabetes include high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and smoking.
  • Managing type 2 diabetes through regular blood sugar checks, medication, a balanced diet, and exercise is crucial for a longer and healthier life.

Type 2 diabetes typically shows up later in life, although the incidence in younger people is increasing. The disease, which is characterized by high blood glucose (sugar), or hyperglycemia, usually results from a combination of unhealthy lifestyle habits, obesity, environmental factors, and genetics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes was the eighth most common cause of death in the United States in 2022, the year with the most recent statistics. However, there is no defining statistic to tell you how long you’ll live with type 2 diabetes. Good diabetes management helps lower your risk of developing associated conditions that may shorten your lifespan.

The top cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes is cardiovascular disease. That’s because high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels. Also, people with type 2 diabetes often have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and other factors that increase the risk of heart disease.

When you have type 2 diabetes, there are many factors that can increase your risk of complications, and these complications can impact your life expectancy. They include:

High blood sugar levels: Unmanaged high blood sugar levels affect many organs and contribute to the development of complications.

High blood pressure: According to the CDC, nearly 81% of adults with diabetes between the years 2017 and 2020 had high blood pressure readings of 130 (systolic) over 80 (diastolic) or higher. High blood pressure increases the risk of complications like:

Lipid disorders: Many people with diabetes have high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad, cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of vessel disease. High triglyceride levels and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good, cholesterol levels are also common in diabetes, which also increases the risk of complications. Research indicates a connection between LDL cholesterol and sudden cardiac death.

Smoking: Smoking can increase the risk of various complications associated with diabetes, as well as increase the risk of overall mortality from other diseases, such as cancer.

Because of all these risk factors, diabetes increases the risk of developing certain complications, which also affect your life expectancy.

Kidney disease

Diabetes is the cause of more than half of all new cases of kidney failure in the United States. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and all-cause mortality in people with diabetes. Both conditions can decrease life expectancy.

Nerve damage

Chronically high blood sugar levels can damage nerves. If this damage occurs in the autonomic nerves that control the involuntary functions of your body, such as heart rate and blood pressure, you can be at risk for complications that can reduce life expectancy.

Damage to the peripheral nerves can lead to problems with sensations in your feet. This in turn can lead to issues with healing, increasing the risk of infections and amputations. Infections are harder to clear with high blood sugar, and infections that spread can potentially be fatal.

Gum disease

Gum disease is more prevalent in adults with type 2 diabetes than in other adults.

This complication of diabetes:

  • decreases circulation
  • increases plaque from high blood sugar levels
  • decreases saliva production, causing dry mouth
  • decreases protective collagen in the gums

Severe cases of gum disease can lead to heart problems, which in turn affect life expectancy. Your best defense against gum disease includes proper oral care and regular dental exams.

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Although rare in type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar levels without adequate insulin can cause ketone levels to build up in the blood, causing a potentially deadly condition called diabetic ketoacidosis.

Type 2 diabetes requires constant management.

First, it’s important to check your blood sugar regularly to make sure it’s not too high. Taking the right doses of medication is necessary to keep glucose levels in a normal range.

Lifestyle habits, such as a health-promoting eating plan and staying physically active, such as exercising, can also help regulate blood glucose.

Keeping your diabetes well managed is key to enjoying a long and fulfilling life.