Types of Diabetes
By Peter Lenkefi
Before we start discussion about type of diabetes we must know what exactly is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism—the digestion system of our body for growth and energy. Almost every food we eat broken down to glucose, the form or sugar which is the fuel for our body.
After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach.
When we eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into our cells. For the people having diabetes this is the place of disorder, there pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced.
Types of diabetes: The three main types of diabetes are
Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Gestational diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent diabetes)
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body's system for fighting infection stops in a part of body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live.
Type 2 Diabetes (previously known as non-insulin dependent diabetes)
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. Nearly 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes is strongly genetic. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents. However, type 2 diabetes in youth are not in common.
When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes—glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.
Gestational Diabetes: (Gdm)
Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy. Like type 2 diabetes, it occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans, and among women with a family history of diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.
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