Diabets Types

Types of Diabetes

There are several types of diabetes:

• In type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, the pancreas makes little or no insulin because the insulin-producing beta cells have been destroyed. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes, accounting for about five to 10 percent of diabetes cases. It typically develops during childhood or young adulthood. Although formerly known as "juvenile diabetes," the disorder can appear at any age.
• Type 1 diabetes is classified as an autoimmune disease—a condition that results when the immune system turns against a specific part or system of the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. At present, scientists do not know exactly what causes the body's immune system to attack the beta cells, but they believe that both genetic and environmental factors are involved.
• In type 2 (noninsulin-dependent) diabetes, the pancreas makes insulin but the body does not respond to it properly (insulin resistance). In time, the pancreas can fail to produce enough of its own insulin and requires insulin replacement. Type 2 diabetes most often occurs in overweight or obese adults after the age of 30, but may also develop in children. Factors that contribute to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are genetics, obesity, physical inactivity and advancing age.
• Type 2 diabetes is on the rise in the US and rates are expected to continue increasing for several reasons, according to the CDC. The increasing prevalence of obesity among Americans is a major contributor to the rise in type 2 diabetes. Approximately 127 million Americans—or about 64.5 percent of the adult population—are overweight or obese and the number of obese children in the US is growing. Another reason is related to the relatively low levels of physical activity among American adults. (Sixty percent of American adults don't get enough physical activity.)

Other factors contributing to the rise of type 2 diabetes include:

· The increasing age of the population

· The fast growth rate of certain ethnic populations at high risk for developing the condition, including Latino and Hispanic Americans

· A third type of diabetes, gestational diabetes, is one of the most common problems of pregnancy. Left uncontrolled, it can be dangerous for both baby and mother.

Gestational diabetes results when hormones produced by the placenta increase the mothers' resistance to insulin. This resistance usually disappears when the pregnancy ends, but women who have had gestational diabetes have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. All pregnant women are routinely screened for gestational diabetes between their 24th and 28th week.

• A new term, "pre-diabetes," describes an increasingly common condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. About 41 million people in the US between the ages of 40 and 74 have pre-diabetes.

Those with pre-diabetes have impaired fasting glucose (between 100 and 126 mg/dL after an overnight fast) or they have impaired glucose tolerance as indicated by one or more simple tests used to measure glucose levels. The ADA reports that in one study, about 11 percent of people with pre-diabetes developed type 2 diabetes each year during the average three years of follow-up. Other research shows that most people with this condition go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years unless they make modest changes in their diet and level of physical activity.

Some long-term damaging effects to the body, particularly the heart and circulatory system, may start during the pre-diabetes phase of the disease.