Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for diabetes
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 35,396 issues about diabetes. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 38 percent. It sent 46 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
1,220 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 1,987 were dismissed or withdrawn. 279 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 102,396 issues across 65,241 decisions, 30 percent granted of the ones decided, and 45 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted13,972 issues | Denied33,382 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 78 percent | 81 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 52 percent | 65 percent |
| A hearing was held (the veteran or a witness testified) | 48 percent | 37 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 6 percent | 6 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to diabetes
Radiculopathy or neuropathy secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 3,360 issues paired, 51 percent granted of the ones decided
High blood pressure secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 1,262 issues paired, 30 percent granted of the ones decided
Eye conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 886 issues paired, 36 percent granted of the ones decided
Erectile dysfunction secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 708 issues paired, 47 percent granted of the ones decided
Heart disease secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 166 issues paired, 48 percent granted of the ones decided
Kidney conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 492 issues paired, 41 percent granted of the ones decided
Foot conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 195 issues paired, 44 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 360 issues paired, 36 percent granted of the ones decided
Wrist and hand conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 142 issues paired, 33 percent granted of the ones decided
Peripheral artery disease secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 104 issues paired, 50 percent granted of the ones decided
Depression or anxiety secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 71 issues paired, 65 percent granted of the ones decided
Skin conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 108 issues paired, 33 percent granted of the ones decided
Liver conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 57 issues paired, 41 percent granted of the ones decided
Prostate conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 62 issues paired, 44 percent granted of the ones decided
GERD secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 65 issues paired, 37 percent granted of the ones decided
Knee conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 67 issues paired, 44 percent granted of the ones decided
Cancer secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 83 issues paired, 11 percent granted of the ones decided
Arthritis secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 39 issues paired, 11 percent granted of the ones decided
Dental conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 21 issues paired, 14 percent granted of the ones decided
Thyroid conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 55 issues paired, 25 percent granted of the ones decided
Stomach ulcers secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 31 issues paired, 36 percent granted of the ones decided
Hearing loss secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 41 issues paired, 17 percent granted of the ones decided
Shoulder conditions secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 14 issues paired, 0 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes claimed as secondary to something else
Diabetes secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 156 issues paired, 29 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to PTSD
Since 2019: 146 issues paired, 45 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to depression or anxiety
Since 2019: 146 issues paired, 32 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to lower back conditions
Since 2019: 69 issues paired, 60 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to knee conditions
Since 2019: 71 issues paired, 61 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to liver conditions
Since 2019: 50 issues paired, 38 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 56 issues paired, 78 percent granted of the ones decided
Recent decisions about diabetes
- June 30, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Granted
Entitlement to an increased rating of 40 percent, but no higher, for left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy from December 16, 2009
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Denied
Entitlement to an increased rating greater than 60 percent for type 2 diabetes with erectile dysfunction (ED)
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 22, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for Diabetes Mellitus Type II (DM2), on a presumptive basis
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
Three things carry a diabetes claim. A diagnosis in a treatment record, with the test behind it. Something in service, or a presumption, or a service-connected condition that led to it. And, where no presumption fits, a doctor's opinion that explains the link.
Herbicide exposure is the presumption veterans reach for here, and the rules list diabetes among the conditions tied to it. Where a presumption fits, the service record does the work the nexus opinion would have done. Where it does not, the claim rests on a doctor's opinion with reasons.
For a higher rating, the schedule asks about treatment and about how much of your day is managed, not about a single lab number. Is insulin required. Is a restricted diet required. Is your activity regulated, meaning a doctor has told you to cut out strenuous activity. Are there episodes that sent you to a provider or to hospital, and how many a year. Bring the prescriptions, the diet instruction in writing, and the note that limits what you may do.
Diabetes is the first condition behind secondary claims for the nerves in the feet and hands, the eyes, the kidneys, the heart, and sexual function. Each one is rated on its own once a doctor ties it to the diabetes and explains why.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.