Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes is a complicated illness that affects the entire body; being aware of the various kinds of diabetes can help us better understand the disease and how it affects people. This November, let’s take the time to understand the different forms of diabetes to support our friends, family, and coworkers who live with this illness.
What is diabetes?
This condition occurs when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or your body is resistant to insulin, this dysfunction causes abnormally high blood sugar (also known as glucose) levels. Diabetes can affect anyone, but some people are at higher risk for developing the disease.
First, let’s talk about glucose. When you eat or drink carbohydrates, they are transformed by digestion and found as glucose in your bloodstream; glucose is the main source of energy for your body. If glucose is not immediately used for energy the pancreas will release insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels. Insulin is a hormone that tells cells in the body to accept and store glucose. If a person is diabetic their pancreas may not produce enough insulin and, in some cases, it does not produce any at all. Another issue is insulin resistance, when someone is resistant to insulin, their body needs to produce more insulin than normal to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.
Having prolonged high blood sugar (known as hyperglycemia) leads to other health problems, such as nerve problems, heart issues, and eye disease.
Unfortunately, diabetes is a very common disease, affecting around 37.3 million people in the United States (about 11% of the population) and about 537 million people worldwide. Of these, 90-95% are Type 2 diabetes cases.
What are the different types of diabetes?
Most Common Forms of Diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes: The most common type of diabetes, often starting with insulin resistance and leading to reduced insulin production as the disease advances. It usually affects adults but is becoming more common in children and obesity rates rise.
- Prediabetes: The stage before Type 2 diabetes indicated by insulin resistance and slightly higher than normal blood glucose levels.
- Type 1 diabetes: An autoimmune disease where your own immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in your body. It can develop at any age.
- Gestational diabetes: Develops temporarily during pregnancy, but can lead to type 2 diabetes later in life.
Other Forms of Diabetes
- Type 3c diabetes: Caused by damage to the pancreas from removal or disease.
- Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA): Like Type 1 diabetes, but slower onset.
- Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY): Caused by an inherited genetic mutation that affects insulin creation and use. There are many forms and it can be difficult to diagnose.
- Neonatal diabetes: A rare form of diabetes that occurs in the first six months of life.
- Brittle diabetes: A kind of Type 1 diabetes with frequent and severe blood sugar fluctuations.
