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What is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease in which blood
glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned
into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The
pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone
called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies.
When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin
or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar
to build up in your blood.
Diabetes can cause serious health complications, including heart
disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower-extremity amputations.
Diabetes is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States.
For more information, see the National Diabetes Information
Clearinghouse publication
"Your Guide to Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2."
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
People who think they might have
diabetes must visit a physician for diagnosis. They might have
some or none of the following symptoms:
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme hunger
- Sudden vision changes
- Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
- Feeling very tired much of the time
- Very dry skin
- Sores that are slow to heal
- More infections than usual.
Nausea, vomiting or stomach pains may accompany some of these
symptoms in the abrupt onset of insulin-dependent diabetes, now
called type 1 diabetes.
What are the types of diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes, which was previously called insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus or juvenile-onset diabetes, may account for 5
percent to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2
diabetes, which was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes
mellitus or adult-onset diabetes, may account for about 90 percent
to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Gestational
diabetes is a type of diabetes that only pregnant women get. If not
treated, it can cause problems for mothers and babies. Gestational
diabetes develops in 2 percent to 5 percent of all pregnancies but
usually disappears when a pregnancy is over. Other specific types of
diabetes resulting from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs,
malnutrition, infections and other illnesses may account for 1
percent to 2 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.
What are the risk factors for diabetes?
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity,
family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes,
impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race or
ethnicity. African-Americans, Hispanic- or Latino-Americans,
American Indians, and some Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are
at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors are less well defined for type 1 diabetes than for
type 2 diabetes, but autoimmune, genetic and environmental factors
are involved in developing this type of diabetes.
Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently in African-Americans,
Hispanic- and Latino-Americans, American Indians, and people with a
family history of diabetes than in other groups. Obesity is also
associated with higher risk. Women who have had gestational diabetes
are at increased risk for later developing type 2 diabetes. In some
studies, nearly 40 percent of women with a history of gestational
diabetes developed diabetes in the future.
Other specific types of diabetes, which may account for 1 percent
to 2 percent of all diagnosed cases, result from specific genetic
syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections and other
illnesses.
What is the treatment for diabetes?
Healthy eating, physical activity and insulin injections are the
basic therapies for type 1 diabetes. The amount of insulin taken
must be balanced with food intake and daily activities. Blood
glucose levels must be closely monitored through frequent blood
glucose testing.
Healthy eating, physical activity and blood glucose testing are
the basic therapies for type 2 diabetes. In addition, many people
with type 2 diabetes require oral medication, insulin or both to
control their blood glucose levels.
People with diabetes must take responsibility for their
day-to-day care and keep blood glucose levels from going too low or
too high.
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 People with diabetes should see a health care provider who will
monitor their diabetes control and help them learn to manage their
diabetes. In addition, people with diabetes may see
endocrinologists, who may specialize in diabetes care;
ophthalmologists for eye examinations; podiatrists for routine foot
care; and dietitians and diabetes educators who teach the skills
needed for daily diabetes management.
The
"Diabetes Overview" fact sheet from the National Diabetes
Information Clearinghouse has additional information.
What causes type 1 diabetes?
The causes of type 1 diabetes appear to be much different than
those for type 2 diabetes, though the exact mechanisms for
developing both diseases are unknown. The appearance of type 1
diabetes is suspected to follow exposure to an "environmental
trigger," such as an unidentified virus, stimulating an immune
attack against the beta cells of the pancreas (that produce insulin)
in some genetically predisposed people.
For more information about the immune
system, visit these Web pages from The National Institute of
Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:
For more information on genetics and
disease, visit:
Can diabetes be prevented?
A number of studies have shown that regular physical activity can
significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2
diabetes also appears to be associated with obesity.
Researchers are making progress in identifying the exact genetics
and "triggers" that predispose some individuals to develop type 1
diabetes, but prevention remains elusive.
See the CDC's
"Preventing
Diabetes" section for more information.
Is there a cure for diabetes?
In response to the growing health burden of diabetes, the
diabetes community has three choices: prevent diabetes; cure
diabetes; and improve the quality of care of people with diabetes to
prevent devastating complications. All three approaches are actively
being pursued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Both the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention are involved in prevention
activities. The NIH is involved in research to cure both type 1 and
type 2 diabetes, especially type 1. CDC focuses most of its programs
on being sure that the proven science is put into daily practice for
people with diabetes. The basic idea is that if all the important
research and science are not applied meaningfully in the daily lives
of people with diabetes, then the research is, in essence, wasted.
Several approaches to "cure" diabetes
are being pursued:
- Pancreas transplantation
- Islet cell transplantation (islet cells produce insulin)
- Artificial pancreas development
- Genetic manipulation (fat or muscle cells that don't normally
make insulin have a human insulin gene inserted; then these
"pseudo" islet cells are transplanted into people with type 1
diabetes)
Each of these approaches still has a lot of challenges, such as
preventing immune rejection, finding an adequate number of insulin
cells, keeping cells alive and others. But progress is being made in
all areas.
[Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention]
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