Types of Diabetes The three
main types of diabetes are
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the
body's system for fighting infection (the immune system) turns against a part of
the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta
cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no
insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live.
At present, scientists do not know exactly what causes the body's immune system
to attack the beta cells, but they believe that autoimmune, genetic, and
environmental factors, possibly viruses, are involved. Type 1 diabetes accounts
for about 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetes in the United States. It
develops most often in children and young adults, but can appear at any age.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually develop over a short period, although beta
cell destruction can begin years earlier. Symptoms include increased thirst and
urination, constant hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and extreme fatigue. If
not diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person with type 1 diabetes can lapse
into a life-threatening diabetic coma, also known as diabetic ketoacidosis.
Type 2 Diabetes
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. About 90 to 95 percent of
people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes is associated with older
age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational
diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. About 80 percent of people with
type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.
However, nationally representative data on prevalence of type 2 diabetes in
youth are not available.
When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough
insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a
condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production
decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes--glucose builds up in
the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually. Their onset is not as sudden
as in type 1 diabetes. Symptoms may include fatigue or nausea, frequent
urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, and
slow healing of wounds or sores. Some people have no symptoms.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy. Like type 2 diabetes, it
occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans,
and among women with a family history of diabetes. Women who have had
gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing type 2
diabetes within 5 to 10 years.
(from the National Institute of Health)
|
