“What are the complications associated with juvenile diabetes?”

Difficult to answer succinctly. Complications from diabetes depends on short and long term control of blood sugar levels adjusting insulin doses, food, activity by blood glucose monitoring. Some genetic and familial issues that aren't so easy to assess. If glucose control is continued over many years, then complications can be minimized. Complications occur when years of high glucose levels damage vasctular system and produce retina blood vessel damage that can lead to blindness (retinopathy); kidney blood vessel damage which can lead to hypertension, protein leakage (albuminuria) and kidney malfunction/failure if the blood supply to kidneys is affected; cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke as well as circulation difficulties afffecting the feet and legs; and nerve damage that can produce loss of sensation or pain. All these directly correlate with overall glucose control and how well or poorly it is maintained. Many studies such as the DCCT document that improving glucose congrol minimizes or eliminates such severe complications (correlates witih average glucose levels obtained, less day-to-day variability and lower A1c levels. Cholesterol levels can also be impacted by glucose control. The best advice to prevent such problems is to work closely with a board certified pediatric endocrinologist with experience with type 1 diabetes, consider optimizing blood glucose monitoring and analysis with continuous glucose monitoirng systems and consider optimizing insulin delivery with insulin pumps connected to CGMS in what is now called hybrid closed loop systems which optimize and limit hyperglycemia at the same time as minimizing or avoiding hypoglycemia. And getting family/parental/patient support from organizations like childrenwithdiabetes (cwd), American Diabetes Association (ADA), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

Best of luck.

Type 1 diabetes is a metabolic condition in which the body does not make sufficient insulin where by the patient reguires insulin for survival. It is mostly an autoimmune disease. The autoimmune process destroys the insulin producing cells and blood glucose gets uncontrolled. Therefore insulin is important not only to manage the diabetes but also for survival. If diabetes is left untreated with insulin, this can lead to diabetes coma, organ failures and death. But with proper treatment the patient can live (almost) normal life.
There are acute and chronic complications of uncontrolled diabetes.
The acute complications of uncontrolled diabetes are severe 1) hypoglycemic symptoms, dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, jiteriness. Sometimes it can lead to seizures (from too much insulin). 2). Diabetic ketoacidosis which can lead to coma (from too little insulin).
There are also chronic complications of uncontrolled diabetes such as eye disease, kidney disease, nerve disease, high cholesterol etc.
Since uncontrolled diabetes have grave consequences it needs to be treated properly to avoid these short term and long term complications.
When diabetes is well controlled the patient should be able to continue normal life like any normal person.
You should talk to your doctor, especially your endocrinologist or diabetes educator about these issues.
Good luck

Children with well controlled diabetes lead a long and healthy life. If well-controlled, it should not affect his eyes, kidneys, etc.

The closer you can keep your son's blood sugars to normal the less likely he will have complications. Please remember both low and high blood sugars can cause problems, so you need to work closely with his diabetes care provider to take the best care of your son. Almost any organ can have problems due to diabetes, but we know that the risk of complications go down the closer you can keep the blood sugars to normal. the other thing to prevent complications is to get regular diabetic eye exam. Your provider will also start screening for protein in the urine and high cholesterol in the blood at some point in the future.

The short term complications of type 1 or juvenile diabetes are mostly related to illness when something called DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis, can occur. This can almost always be prevented by regular blood glucose monitoring and learning about sick day guidelines to take extra insulin and extra salty fluids to compensate for dehydration. Mostly caused by the illness requiring more insulin and no increased insulin response.

Hypoglycemia is another potential problem with anyone getting insulin. This is from a mis-balance of food, activity and insulin. Again, monitoring BGs closely and responding to the results can often identify hypoglycemia early so that it can easily be tread with simple sugar like juice or Lifesavers or glucose tablets.

Long term complications take years to develop, are associated with chronic high sugar levels (hyperglycemia) and high A1c levels which are a measure of this hyperglycemia. The high sugars, over time, damage the blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys, heart, brain, kidneys and general circulation. So, the high sugars do similar damage to smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure. Some people have a higher familial/genetic risk and we do not know how to measure this directly except by asking about family diseases. In diabetes, this reflects the degree of glucose control achieved an sustained. The better the control, without excessive or severe episodes of hypoglycemia, the lower the shrot and long term complications, so that's the key.

I usually do not like to talk about complications with my patients because I want to motivate them in a positive manner. If your son has a good, controlled diabetes mellitus, he will be fine and be able to do everything in his life like any other kid. On the other hand, if he does not take control over his diabetes, he will have an increased risk to face complications later in his life, like heart problems, sensory problems in his feet, vision problems, and kidney problems.