Name a potential complication of high blood glucose.

• A. Reduced kidney function
• B. Increased hair growth
• C. Improved endurance
• D. Neuropathy

Answer: (D)

Chronic high blood glucose damages nerves, leading to neuropathy. Long-term elevated sugar levels cause metabolic and vascular changes that injure nerve fibers, especially in the extremities. The polyol pathway can accumulate sorbitol in nerves, increasing osmotic stress, while oxidative stress and microvascular damage reduce blood flow to nerves. This combination disrupts nerve signaling and can cause numbness, tingling, burning pain, or weakness in the hands and feet, and can also affect autonomic functions. Because neuropathy directly stems from sustained high glucose, it’s a common and concerning complication of hyperglycemia.

Other options don’t fit as well: reduced kidney function can occur with prolonged diabetes (diabetic nephropathy), but the most direct nerve-related complication shown here is neuropathy. Increased hair growth isn’t a typical effect of high blood glucose, and improved endurance would be a positive outcome, not a complication.