There are number of people who have been diagnosed with Type 1, Type 2 diabetes but have different symptoms, causes
As many as 37 million people are suffering from diabetes and according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least another 96 million are prediabetic. There are a number of people who have been diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes but they have different symptoms and causes. An expert Dr Rodica Busui, the president of Medicine and Science at the American Diabetes Association explained about diabetes and all the necessary information you require.
Diabetes is a long-lasting condition in which the body stops producing insulin and the level of sugar in the bloodstream is increased. In Type 1, the body does not produce enough insulin and in Type 2, it doesn’t use it properly.
However, its causes and treatments vary with serious health impacts if the condition is not treated. “It can affect every single part of one body, and that’s important to understand – it cannot be taken lightly,” Busui told USA Today.
According to Busui, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where beta cells, a hormone located in the pancreas that creates insulin, are destroyed. Therefore, many Type 1 diabetics undergo regular insulin injections. “It’s like your own body creates antibodies against your own structures, in this case, the beta cells,” Busui noted.
Type 1 is more commonly in children than Type 2 which may occur at any age, said Busui, adding that she diagnosed patients in their mid-60s with Type 1.
It is a common type of diabetes in which beta cell dysfunction has multiple, complex causes, including weight gain, lifestyle changes and lack of exercise.
A person can also suffer from this diabetes due to family history, ethnicity and age. Due to these changes, the body stops using insulin properly, developing insulin resistance. “The more we are insulin resistant … the more insulin is needed to take the same amount of glucose from the blood inside the cell to produce energy,” Busui noted. “And because of that, the beta cells have to work overtime constantly, working nonstop.
