Diabetes

DIABETES OVERVIEW

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects health condition in term of yoyr body reponding to food into energy. Human body breaks down most of the food one consumes into sugar (glucose) and flows into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar rises, it instructs pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is the key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy. Diabetics, fail to develop ample insulin or can’t use it as well as it should. When insulin level falls or cells stop responding to insulin, excess blood sugar stays in bloodstream.

TYPES OF DIABETES

Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed at any age, and symptoms often develop quickly. If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults). You may not notice any symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood sugar tested if you’re at risk. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as:

• Losing weight.
• Eating healthy food.
• Being active.

CAUSES

TYPE 1 DIABETES

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your immune system, the body’s system for fighting infection, attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Scientists think type 1 diabetes is caused by genes and environmental factors, such as viruses, that might trigger the disease. Studies such as TrialNet External link are working to pinpoint causes of type 1 diabetes and possible ways to prevent or slow the disease.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes—the most common form of diabetes—is caused by several factors, including lifestyle factors and genes.

Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight or have obesity. Extra weight sometimes causes insulin resistance and is common in people with type 2 diabetes. The location of body fat also makes a difference. Extra belly fat is linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and heart and blood vessel disease. To see if your weight puts you at risk for type 2 diabetes, check out these Body Mass Index (BMI) charts.

Insulin resistance
Type 2 diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which muscle, liver, and fat cells do not use insulin well. As a result, your body needs more insulin to help glucose enter cells. At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to keep up with the added demand. Over time, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin, and blood glucose levels rise.

Genes and family history
As in type 1 diabetes, certain genes may make you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The disease tends to run in families and occurs more often in these racial/ethnic groups:

African Americans
Alaska Natives
American Indians
Asian Americans
Hispanics/Latinos
Native Hawaiians
Pacific Islanders
Genes also can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by increasing a person’s tendency to become overweight or have obesity.

GESTATIONAL DIABETES CAUSES

• Scientists believe gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy, is caused by the hormonal changes of pregnancy along with genetic and lifestyle factors.
• Insulin resistance
• Hormones produced by the placenta NIH external link contribute to insulin resistance, which occurs in all women during late pregnancy. Most pregnant women can produce enough insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but some cannot. Gestational diabetes occurs when the pancreas can’t make enough insulin.
• As with type 2 diabetes, extra weight is linked to gestational diabetes. Women who are overweight or have obesity may already have insulin resistance when they become pregnant. Gaining too much weight during pregnancy may also be a factor.
• Photo of smiling pregnant woman
• Hormonal changes, extra weight, and family history can contribute to gestational diabetes.
• Genes and family history
• Having a family history of diabetes makes it more likely that a woman will develop gestational diabetes, which suggests that genes play a role. Genes may also explain why the disorder occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and Hispanics/Latinas.

OTHER CAUSES

Genetic mutations NIH external link, other diseases, damage to the pancreas, and certain medicines may also cause diabetes.

Genetic mutations

• Monogenic diabetes is caused by mutations, or changes, in a single gene. These changes are usually passed through families, but sometimes the gene mutation happens on its own. Most of these gene mutations cause diabetes by making the pancreas less able to make insulin. The most common types of monogenic diabetes are neonatal diabetes and maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). Neonatal diabetes occurs in the first 6 months of life. Doctors usually diagnose MODY during adolescence or early adulthood, but sometimes the disease is not diagnosed until later in life.
• Cystic fibrosis NIH external link produces thick mucus that causes scarring in the pancreas. This scarring can prevent the pancreas from making enough insulin.
• Hemochromatosis causes the body to store too much iron. If the disease is not treated, iron can build up in and damage the pancreas and other organs.

Hormonal diseases

• Some hormonal diseases cause the body to produce too much of certain hormones, which sometimes cause insulin resistance and diabetes.
• Cushing’s syndrome occurs when the body produces too much cortisol—often called the “stress hormone.”
• Acromegaly occurs when the body produces too much growth hormone.
• Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone.

Damage to or removal of the pancreas
Pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and trauma can all harm the beta cells or make them less able to produce insulin, resulting in diabetes. If the damaged pancreas is removed, diabetes will occur due to the loss of the beta cells.

Medicines

• Sometimes certain medicines can harm beta cells or disrupt the way insulin works. These include
• niacin, a type of vitamin B3
• certain types of diuretics, also called water pills
• anti-seizure drugs
• psychiatric drugs
• drugs to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV NIH external link)
• pentamidine, a drug used to treat a type of pneumonia External link
• glucocorticoids—medicines used to treat inflammatory illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis NIH external link, asthma NIH external link, lupus NIH external link, and ulcerative colitis
• anti-rejection medicines, used to help stop the body from rejecting a transplanted organ
• Statins, which are medicines to reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, can slightly increase the chance that you’ll develop diabetes. However, statins help protect you from heart disease and stroke. For this reason, the strong benefits of taking statins outweigh the small chance that you could develop diabetes.

SYMPTOMS

1. increased thirst and urination
2. increased hunger
3. fatigue
4. blurred vision
5. numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
6. sores that do not heal
7. unexplained weight loss

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include the need to urinate often, thirst, constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly.

Symptoms for type 2 diabetes are generally similar to those of type 1 diabetes but are often less marked.  

ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS

Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.

Type 2 diabetes affects many major organs

• Heart
• Blood vessels
• Nerves
• Eyes
• Kidneys.

Problems associated with orgams are as follows:

1. Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and narrowing of blood vessels, a condition called atherosclerosis.
   
   
2. Nerve damage in limbs. This condition is called neuropathy. High blood sugar over time can damage or destroy nerves. That may result in tingling, numbness, burning, pain or eventual loss of feeling that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward.
   
   
3. Other nerve damage. Damage to nerves of the heart can contribute to irregular heart rhythms. Nerve damage in the digestive system can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. Nerve damage also may cause erectile dysfunction.
   
   
4. Kidney disease. Diabetes may lead to chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney disease that can't be reversed. That may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
   
   
5. Eye damage. Diabetes increases the risk of serious eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, and may damage the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to blindness.
   
   
6. Skin conditions. Diabetes may raise the risk of some skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
   
   
7. Slow healing. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become serious infections, which may heal poorly. Severe damage might require toe, foot or leg amputation.
   
   
8. Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.
   
   
9. Sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is common in people living with type 2 diabetes. Obesity may be the main contributing factor to both conditions.
   
   
10. Dementia. Type 2 diabetes seems to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders that cause dementia. Poor control of blood sugar is linked to a more rapid decline in memory and other thinking skills.

FACTORS

Factors that may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes include:

1. Weight : Being overweight or obese is a main risk.
   
   
2. Fat distribution : Storing fat mainly in the abdomen — rather than the hips and thighs — indicates a greater risk. The risk of type 2 diabetes is higher in men with a waist circumference above 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) and in women with a waist measurement above 35 inches (88.9 centimeters).
   
   
3. Inactivity : The less active a person is, the greater the risk. Physical activity helps control weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes cells more sensitive to insulin.
   
   
4. Family history : An individual's risk of type 2 diabetes increases if a parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
   
   
5. Race and ethnicity : Although it's unclear why, people of certain races and ethnicities — including Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian people, and Pacific Islanders — are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than white people are.
   
   
6. Blood lipid levels : An increased risk is associated with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the "good" cholesterol — and high levels of triglycerides.
   
   
7. Age : The risk of type 2 diabetes increases with age, especially after age 35.
   
   
8. Prediabetes : Prediabetes is a condition in which the blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Left untreated, prediabetes often progresses to type 2 diabetes.
   
   
9. Pregnancy-related risks : The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is higher in people who had gestational diabetes when they were pregnant and in those who gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4 kilograms).
   
   
10. Polycystic ovary syndrome : Having polycystic ovary syndrome — a condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity — increases the risk of diabetes.

TREATMENTS