[Vascular wall and diabetes mellitus: what complications and why?].

The absolute risk of cardiovascular events is three times higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics. This risk can be due either to specific microvascular complications, or to macrovascular complications, which are non-specific but more frequent, earlier, and of poorer prognosis in diabetics than in non-diabetics. The link between hyperglycaemia and microvascular diseases has been well established in insulin-dependent diabetes. Conversely, no specific treatment strategy has been established to decrease cardiovascular risk in non-insulin-dependent diabetes, especially taking into consideration the level of hyperglycaemia.