Diabetes

Diabetes

What Is Meant By Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses
blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is vital to your health because it's an important
source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It is also your
brain main source of fuel.
Chronic diabetes conditions include type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Potentially reversible diabetes conditions include prediabetes and gestational
diabetes. Prediabetes occurs when your blood sugar levels are higher than
normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. And prediabetes is often
the precursor of diabetes unless appropriate measures are taken to prevent
progression. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy but may resolve after
the baby is delivered.

Symptoms.
Diabetes symptoms vary depending on how much your blood sugar is elevated.
Some people, especially those with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, may sometimes not experience symptoms. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms tend to come
on quickly and be more severe.

• Some of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes and type 2.
  diabetes are:
  Increased thirst.
  Frequent urination.
  Extreme hunger.
  Unexplained weight loss.
  Presence of ketones in the urine (ketones are a byproduct of the breakdown of muscle and fat that happens when not enough available insulin).
  Fatigue.
  Irritability.
  Slow-healing sores.
  Frequent infections, such as gums or skin infections and vaginal infections.
• Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, though it often appears during childhood
  or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes, the more common type, can develop at any age,
  though it more common in people older than 40.

Causes of type 1 diabetes.
The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown. What is known is that your
immune system — which normally fights harmful bacteria or viruses — attacks
and destroys your insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This leaves you with
little or no insulin. Instead of being transported into your cells, sugar builds up in
your bloodstream.
Type 1 is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility and
environmental factors, though exactly what those factors are is still unclear.
Weight is not believed to be a factor in type 1 diabetes.

Causes of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
In prediabetes — which can lead to type 2 diabetes — and in type 2 diabetes, your cells become resistant to the action of insulin, and your pancreas is unable to make enough insulin to overcome this resistance. Instead of moving into your cells where it is needed for energy, sugar builds up in your bloodstream.
Exactly why this happens is uncertain, although it is believed that genetic & enviro-nmental factors play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes too. Being overweight is strongly linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, but not everyone
with type 2 is overweight.

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes.                                                                             

Family history. Your risk increases if a parent or sibling has type 1 diabetes.
Environmental factors. Circumstances such as exposure to a viral illness likely play some role in type 1 diabetes.
The presence of damaging immune system cells (autoantibodies). Sometimes family members of people with type 1 diabetes are tested for the presence of diabetes autoantibodies. If you have these autoantibodies, you have an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. But not everyone who has these autoantibodies develops diabetes.
Geography. Certain countries, such as Finland and Sweden, have higher rates of type 1 diabetes.

Risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Weight. The more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin.
Inactivity. The less active you are, the greater your risk. Physical activity helps you control your weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin.
Family history. Your risk increases if a parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
Race or ethnicity. Although it is unclear why, certain people including Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Asian American people are at higher risk.

Age. Your risk increases as you get older. This may be because you tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as you age. But type 2 diabetes is also increasing among children, adolescents and younger adults.