What is Diabetes?

Mar 1, 2022 admin No Comments 383 Views

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.

Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems. Although diabetes has no cure, you can take steps to manage your diabetes and stay healthy.

Sometimes people call diabetes “a touch of sugar” or “borderline diabetes.” These terms suggest that someone doesn’t really have diabetes or has a less serious case, but every case of diabetes is serious.

What Are The Different Types Of Diabetes?

The most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.

If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. Your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can appear at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive.

If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not make or use insulin well. You can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, this type of diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older people. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes.

Gestational diabetes develops in some women when they are pregnant. Most of the time, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Sometimes diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is actually type 2 diabetes.

Less common types include monogenic diabetes, which is an inherited form of diabetes, and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

What Health Problems Can People With Diabetes Develop?

Over time, high blood glucose leads to problems such as

heart disease
stroke
kidney disease
eye problems
dental disease
nerve damage
foot problems

You can take steps to lower your chances of developing these diabetes-related health problems.

Diabetes Risk Factors

Certain factors increase your risk for diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes

You’re more likely to get type 1 diabetes if you’re a child or teenager, you have a parent or sibling with the condition, or you carry certain genes that are linked to the disease.

Type 2 Diabetes

Your risk for type 2 diabetes increases if you:

are overweight
are age 45 or older
have a parent or sibling with the condition
aren’t physically active
have had gestational diabetes
have prediabetes
have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high triglycerides
have African American, Hispanic or Latino American, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Asian American ancestry

Gestational Diabetes

Your risk for gestational diabetes increases if you:

are overweight
are over age 25
had gestational diabetes during a past pregnancy
have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
have a family history of type 2 diabetes
have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Diabetes Complications

High blood sugar damages organs and tissues throughout your body. The higher your blood sugar is and the longer you live with it, the greater your risk for complications.

Complications associated with diabetes include:

heart disease, heart attack, and stroke
neuropathy
nephropathy
retinopathy and vision loss
hearing loss
foot damage such as infections and sores that don’t heal
skin conditions such as bacterial and fungal infections
depression
dementia

Gestational Diabetes

Uncontrolled gestational diabetes can lead to problems that affect both the mother and baby. Complications affecting the baby can include:

The mother can develop complications such as high blood pressure (preeclampsia) or type 2 diabetes. She may also require cesarean delivery, commonly referred to as a C-section.

The mother’s risk of gestational diabetes in future pregnancies also increases.