Diabetes is a disease defined by its complications. High blood sugar contributes to many, but not all, of these potential consequences, so it’s logical that medications to lower blood sugar are central to managing diabetes. But focusing on blood sugar alone does not get the job done.

As a physician, I often consider how to measure success for treating patients with diabetes. Keeping blood sugar lower with the use of medications — a top focus of most doctors — is critical.

Elevated maternal blood sugar when the fetal heart is forming has been linked to a heightened risk for congenital heart defects, according to a new Stanford study.

Thirty million Americans have diabetes, a disease where the body loses its ability to remove enough sugar from the bloodstream, spurring harmful inflammation systemwide.

While diabetes is a serious chronic disease with devastating complications, it usually develops after years of insulin resistance, or prediabetes.