Last Updated September 17, 2026
Conditions Center · Endocrine · Social Security Disability
Also called diabetes mellitus, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes (DM).
Diabetes may support SSDI or SSI when its complications or treatment demands prevent sustained work, but the diagnosis and an elevated A1C do not decide the claim. SSA identifies each medically documented effect—such as peripheral neuropathy, chronic kidney disease, vision loss, or coronary disease—then applies the relevant body-system rules and assesses the combined RFC.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus occurs when blood glucose is too high because the body does not make enough insulin, makes no insulin, or does not use insulin properly. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have different mechanisms and treatment patterns. Over time, high glucose can damage nerves, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes, and the heart. Treatment-related low glucose can also cause acute symptoms in some people.
Common symptoms of Diabetes
- Increased thirst or urination when glucose is high
- Fatigue or blurred vision
- Numbness, burning, or pain from peripheral neuropathy
- Slow-healing wounds or recurrent infection
- Confusion, weakness, or loss of consciousness during severe glucose disturbances
How can Diabetes affect a person’s ability to work?
- Reduced standing or walking from neuropathy, ulcers, amputation, or vascular disease
- Limited handling or fingering when neuropathy affects the hands
- Need for scheduled glucose checks, medication, food, or restroom access
- Safety restrictions when severe hypoglycemia is recurrent and documented
- Limits and absences caused by kidney, vision, cardiac, or other complications
Does Social Security have a Listing for Diabetes?
Social Security does not currently have a listing dedicated solely to Diabetes. That does not mean a person cannot qualify. SSA may evaluate related manifestations under another listing or continue the sequential evaluation and assess residual functional capacity.
Adult Listing 9.00 explains that SSA evaluates endocrine disorders by their effects on other body systems. For diabetes, that may include neuropathy, kidney disease, retinopathy, cardiovascular disease, digestive problems, skin infection, amputation, or documented cognitive and mental effects. There is no current adult listing titled “diabetes.”
SSA does not compare diabetes to a standalone adult listing. Under Listing 9.00, it evaluates each established complication in the affected body system—for example neurological, genitourinary, cardiovascular, visual, digestive, skin, or mental. If no listing is met or equaled, SSA assesses the combined RFC, including treatment demands and well-documented episodes of severe high or low glucose.
Can you qualify if you do not meet an SSA Listing?
Yes. Because diabetes has no standalone adult listing, many claims are decided through RFC after SSA evaluates all documented complications together.
What medical evidence may help document Diabetes?
- Primary-care or endocrinology records showing diagnosis, treatment, and glucose course
- Specialist records for each alleged complication
- Continuous glucose monitor or meter data when reviewed in medical care
- Emergency records for severe hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis, or other acute events
- Foot examinations, wound-care records, and neuropathy findings when relevant
Testing, imaging, and laboratory studies
- A1C and blood-glucose trends interpreted with the overall record
- Kidney function and urine albumin testing
- Eye examinations for retinopathy
- Neurologic examination or electrodiagnostic testing when neuropathy is at issue
SSA considers treatment and reasons control may remain difficult. The record should explain insulin or medication changes, hypoglycemia unawareness, pump or monitor use, mental or physical barriers to self-management, side effects, and access problems where they exist.
How SSA may evaluate residual functional capacity
RFC should be based on established complications, not an A1C number. It may address standing, walking, hand use, vision, hazards, restroom access, breaks for medically necessary care, and absence from acute episodes or appointments.
Physical limits may arise from neuropathy, kidney or cardiac disease, ulcers, amputation, or visual impairment. Each limit should be tied to its medical source and combined with the others.
Cognitive, depressive, or anxiety-related limits are not assumed from diabetes. They should be supported by treatment evidence and evaluated under the ordinary mental-impairment rules.
Common issues that can weaken a disability claim involving Diabetes
Relying on A1C alone; listing many complications without specialist records; or claiming frequent severe glucose events that do not appear in monitor, emergency, or treatment records.
What may strengthen the medical documentation
Complication-specific records, longitudinal glucose data used by treating clinicians, and a clear account of medically necessary treatment during a workday make the functional analysis concrete.
Diabetes and related medical conditions
- Amputation — SSA evaluates amputation under Listing 1.20. Bilateral upper-extremity loss at or above the wrists, hemipelvectomy or hip disarticulation, specified combinations, or complicated residual limbs with inability to use a prosthesis can meet the listing. A below-knee amputation with a well-fitting prosthesis often does not.
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome — Carpal tunnel syndrome has no dedicated adult listing. SSA evaluates documented median-nerve impairment and whether hand use, pain, or treatment recovery prevent sustained work.
- Chronic Kidney Disease — Current Listing 6.00 includes separate pathways for ongoing dialysis, kidney transplant, impaired kidney function with complications, and repeated CKD hospitalizations.
- Congestive Heart Failure — Chronic heart failure can reduce exertional capacity and cause fluid buildup. Listing 4.02 requires the specific medical and functional findings in the current cardiovascular rules.
- Coronary Artery Disease — Narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries may cause myocardial ischemia. Listing 4.04 applies only when its prescribed-treatment and severity criteria are documented.
- Cystic Fibrosis — Listing 3.04 evaluates documented cystic fibrosis by specified spirometry, hospitalizations, pneumothorax, respiratory failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, pulse oximetry, or combined exacerbations including CF-related diabetes. A genetic diagnosis is not an approval.
- Gastroparesis — Gastroparesis has no dedicated adult listing. SSA may use Listing 5.08 for specified weight loss, Listing 5.07 when intestinal-failure parenteral-nutrition criteria are met, or residual functional capacity for nausea, vomiting, and attendance. A gastric-emptying study is not an approval.
- Peripheral Neuropathy — Damage to peripheral nerves that may cause pain, numbness, weakness, or balance problems. Listing 11.14 applies only when its specified functional criteria are met.
- Vision Impairment — SSA evaluates visual disorders under Listings 2.02, 2.03, and 2.04. Statutory blindness has a specific legal definition and is not the same as every listing-level visual disorder.
How Brock & Stout may help
We identify the affected body systems, obtain complication-specific records, and build a combined RFC rather than presenting diabetes as a nonexistent standalone listing.
Frequently asked questions
There is no standalone adult diabetes listing. Listing 9.00 directs SSA to evaluate the effects of endocrine disorders under the affected body systems.
No. A1C helps describe glucose control, but SSA needs evidence of lasting complications, treatment demands, and work-related functional limits.
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Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
If Diabetes is affecting your ability to work, Brock & Stout can review the claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. We do not charge a fee for SSD representation unless we win.
This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
