Diabetes
Diabetes is usually a lifelong chronic disease in which there are high
levels of sugar in the blood.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar.
Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or
both.
To understand diabetes, it is important to first understand the normal
process by which food is broken down and used by the body for energy.
Several things happen when food is digested:
- A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose is a source of
fuel for the body.
- An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. The role of insulin is to
move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where
it can be used as fuel.
People with diabetes have high blood sugar because their body cannot move
sugar into fat, liver, and muscle cells to be stored for energy. This is
because either:
- Their pancreas does not make enough insulin
- Their cells do not respond to insulin normally
- Both of the above
There are two major types of diabetes. The causes and risk factors are
different for each type:
-
Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but it is most often diagnosed
in children, teens, or young adults. In this disease, the body makes
little or no insulin. Daily injections of insulin are needed. The exact
cause is unknown.
-
Type 2 diabetes makes up most diabetes cases. It most often occurs in
adulthood. However, because of high obesity rates, teens and young adults
are now being diagnosed with it. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not
know they have it.
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Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that develops at any time
during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes.
Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans. Over 40 million
Americans have pre-diabetes (which often comes before type 2 diabetes).
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