Diabetes is one of the most chronic diseases in Western populations. Mortality rates in diabetic patients are higher than in the general population and their prognosis following any cardiovascular event is generally worse. Type 1 diabetic patients' acute complications-related mortality decreases with time and the interval free from the diagnosis of diabetes until the development of chronic complications is larger although global mortality is still higher than that of sex- and age matched healthy individuals. As a consequence of better primary and secondary prevention, recent data in the general population show that there is a trend towards decreased cardiovascular events and increased life expectancy. The same thing applies for type 2 diabetic patients. However, increased survival in the general population associated to epidemic bursts of obesity and sedentary lifestyle all over the globe, leads to a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes worldwide. This counteracts the diminution of diabetes-related mortality that would move forward on an ascending slope in the next decades.