Toxic stress, inflammation and symptomatology of chronic complications in diabetes

Diabetes affects at least 382 million people worldwide and the incidence is expected to reach 592 million by 2035. The incidence of diabetes in youth is skyrocketing as evidenced by a 21% increase in type 1 diabetes and a 30.5% increase in type 2 diabetes in the United States between 2001 and 2009. The effects of toxic stress, the culmination of biological and environmental interactions, on the development of diabetes complications is gaining attention. Stress impacts the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and contributes to inflammation, a key biological contributor to the pathogenesis of diabetes and its associated complications. This review provides an overview of common diabetic complications such as neuropathy, cognitive decline, depression, nephropathy and cardiovascular disease. The review also provides a discussion of the role of inflammation and stress in the development and progression of chronic complications of diabetes, associated symptomatology and importance of early identification of symptoms of depression, fatigue, exercise intolerance and pain.