People that have diabetes can develop diabetic neuropathy and there are certain factors that make some diabetics more susceptible than other people to nerve damage. These things can include poor blood sugar control, the amount of years a person has diabetes, kidney disease, and smoking place diabetics more at risk.

Poor blood sugar control is one of the largest risk factors for complications and this can include nerve damage that can occur from these complications. The best way to protect the body, the nerves and blood vessels is to keep a tight control of the blood glucose level, which means testing often.

The amount of time a person has had diabetes also can be a contributing factor and especially if the blood sugar is not controlled. One of these conditions of neuropathy complications is peripheral neuropathy when the person has had diabetes for around twenty-five years or more, which means it is a complication that older diabetic adults can face.