Diabetes is a common condition that affects people of all ages. There are several forms of diabetes. Type 2 is the most common. A combination of treatment strategies can help you manage the condition to live a healthy life and prevent complications.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition that happens when your blood sugar (glucose) is too high.
What are the types of diabetes?
There are several types of diabetes. The most common forms include:
Type 1 diabetes: This type is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in your pancreas for unknown reasons. Up to 10% of people who have diabetes have Type 1. It’s usually diagnosed in children and young adults, but it can develop at any age.
Gestational diabetes: This type develops in some people during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, if you have gestational diabetes, you’re at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.
Type 2 diabetes: With this type, your body doesn’t make enough insulin and/or your body’s cells don’t respond normally to the insulin (insulin resistance). This is the most common type of diabetes. It mainlyaffects adults, but children can have it as well.
Prediabetes: This type is the stage before Type 2 diabetes. Your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Other types of diabetes include:
1.Type 3c diabetes
2.Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA)
3.Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY)
4.Neonatal diabetes
5.Brittle diabetes
How common is diabetes?
Diabetes is common. Approximately 37.3 million people in the United States have diabetes,
which is about 11% of the population. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form,
representing 90% to 95% of all diabetes cases.
About 537 million adults across the world have diabetes. Experts predict this number will
rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. Risk factors of diabetes: Type 2 diabetes risk factors
The exact genetic causes of type 2 diabetes are not currently known however, there is a
range of factors that increase the risk of developing the condition. Some diabetes risk factors can be managed or reduced (known as modifiable lifestyle factors), while other factors cannot be changed.
Risk factors that cannot be changed include:
1.age (people over 40 have a higher risk and the risk increases with age)
2.family history of diabetes
3.Ethnicity and cultural background (including people from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Pacific Island, Indian subcontinent or Chinese cultural background)
4.history of gestational diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome
Risk factors that can be managed or reduced (modifiable lifestyle factors) include:
1.carrying excessweight (especially if this weight if around your middle)
2.being physically inactive
3.unhealthy eating habits
4.smoking
5.high blood pressure