# Type 2 diabetes Condition · id `cardio:type-2-diabetes` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `f6f6f1b6f50379ed` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: Type 2 diabetes mellitus Browse, organ or system: Metabolism Browse, condition area: Diabetes and metabolic disease ## In plain language A long-term condition in which the sugar (glucose) level in the blood is too high, because the body does not make enough insulin or does not use insulin well. If it is not managed, diabetes can lead to problems such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. This atlas links it to the medicines and trials that look at heart and kidney outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes. ## Technical summary Hub condition for the cardiovascular and kidney outcome trials in type 2 diabetes in this atlas: LEADER (liraglutide), SURPASS-CVOT (tirzepatide against dulaglutide), FLOW (semaglutide in chronic kidney disease), EMPA-REG OUTCOME (empagliflozin), DECLARE-TIMI 58 (dapagliflozin), FIDELIO-DKD (finerenone) and Look AHEAD (lifestyle intervention). Health care professionals can diagnose it with blood tests, including the HbA1c test. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Adults with chronic kidney disease or at risk of it (NIDDK and MedlinePlus patient pages) Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults with chronic kidney disease, or at higher risk of it, for example because of diabetes or high blood pressure.; Care setting: Not stated; patient information pages; Geography: Not stated; United States federal health agencies; Life stage: Adults; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive page) ### The NIDDK chronic kidney disease page says that diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease in adults. The MedlinePlus chronic kidney disease summary says the same. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Evidence stage not applicable - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults with chronic kidney disease, or at higher risk of it, for example because of diabetes or high blood pressure.; Care setting: Not stated; patient information pages; Geography: Not stated; United States federal health agencies; Life stage: Adults; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive page) - Limitations: Patient-information pages. Both pages say diabetes without separating type 1 from type 2, so this atlas does not claim the statement is specific to type 2 diabetes. The pages give no size of the risk. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: NIDDK: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) (Webpage, edition NIDDK page fetched 2026-10-14. The review date shown on the page itself was not recorded.) Locator: Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease, para 1. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:30:07Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: d37c0d57296c0ed6c81b18b6461672abf5a711391f75f470650102dfb6f8c0db. How it applies: NIDDK states the most common causes of CKD in adults. 2. Supports: MedlinePlus health topic: Chronic Kidney Disease (Webpage, edition MedlinePlus page fetched 2026-10-14; the page footer says last updated September 21, 2025.) Locator: Summary, para 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:30:06Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 87cee69068b737077ddf49505e4d90258c5f55d2962d805baa645b7e0d7036a2. How it applies: MedlinePlus states the same. ## Context: People with type 2 diabetes (NIDDK and MedlinePlus patient pages) Recipient: Mixed recipients; Population: People with type 2 diabetes. The NIDDK page says type 2 diabetes can develop at any age, including childhood, and occurs most often in middle-aged and older people.; Care setting: Not stated; patient information pages; Geography: Not stated; United States federal health agencies; Life stage: All ages; most common in middle-aged and older people; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive page) ### The NIDDK type 2 diabetes page says that, if not managed, diabetes can lead to problems such as heart disease and stroke, and also to nerve damage, kidney disease, foot problems and eye disease. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Evidence stage not applicable - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Mixed recipients; Population: People with type 2 diabetes. The NIDDK page says type 2 diabetes can develop at any age, including childhood, and occurs most often in middle-aged and older people.; Care setting: Not stated; patient information pages; Geography: Not stated; United States federal health agencies; Life stage: All ages; most common in middle-aged and older people; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable (descriptive page) - Limitations: A patient-information page. It says diabetes can lead to these problems if it is not managed, and gives no size for the risk, no time frame and no comparison with people who do not have diabetes. This atlas treats it as a description, not as an estimate. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: NIDDK: Type 2 Diabetes (Webpage, edition NIDDK page fetched 2026-10-14. The review date shown on the page itself was not recorded.) Locator: What health problems can people with diabetes develop?, para 1; What health problems can people with diabetes develop?, list. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:30:07Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 3c2f58d4cd354c770c922c16ad8f978fb230d35db7999b26c237e068d9f55a9a. How it applies: NIDDK lists the problems diabetes can lead to if not managed. ## Connected pages - NIDDK and MedlinePlus name diabetes as a most common cause of chronic kidney disease in adults: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) (`cardio:chronic-kidney-disease`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-diabetes-ckd-cause` and its context] - NIDDK says unmanaged diabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke: Stroke (`core:stroke`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-diabetes-stroke-risk` and its context] - Type 2 diabetes is a form of diabetes mellitus: Diabetes mellitus (`core:diabetes-mellitus`) - Filed under this front: Kidney and metabolic care (`cardio:front-kidney-and-metabolic-care`) - Related to: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`) - Evaluated for this: HbA1c blood test (`cardio:hba1c`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-hba1c-use` and its context] - Related to: Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) health (`cardio:cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic-health`) - Evaluated for this: Dapagliflozin (`cardio:dapagliflozin`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-declare-timi-58-effect` and its context] - Evaluated for this: Empagliflozin (`cardio:empagliflozin`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-empa-reg-outcome-primary-effect` and its context] - Evaluated for this: GLP-1 receptor agonists (drug class) (`cardio:glp1-receptor-agonists`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-glp1-ra-meta-analysis-mace` and its context] - Evaluated for this: Tirzepatide (`cardio:tirzepatide`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-surpass-cvot-noninferiority` and its context] - Investigated in: DECLARE-TIMI 58: dapagliflozin and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes (`cardio:declare-timi-58`) - Investigated in: EMPA-REG OUTCOME: empagliflozin and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes (`cardio:empa-reg-outcome`) - Investigated in: FIDELIO-DKD: finerenone and kidney outcomes in type 2 diabetes (`cardio:fidelio-dkd`) - Investigated in: FLOW: semaglutide and kidney outcomes in type 2 diabetes with chronic kidney disease (`cardio:flow-trial`) - Investigated in: LEADER: liraglutide and cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes (`cardio:leader-trial`) - Investigated in: Look AHEAD: intensive lifestyle intervention in type 2 diabetes (`cardio:look-ahead`) - Investigated in: SURPASS-CVOT: tirzepatide against dulaglutide on major cardiovascular events (`cardio:surpass-cvot`) ## Provenance Content hash: fb232e459ed555887f32ebb7a23c0fc4c2815e04424cd810ee204212403358e9 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: Not recorded