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Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. People with diabetes have problems converting food to energy. After a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas, to help them process blood glucose into energy.
The three main kinds of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes
or juvenile diabetes, is a form of diabetes in which the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body's immune system has attacked and destroyed them.
Gestational Diabetes
is caused by the hormones of pregnancy or a shortage of insulin. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.
Type 2 Diabetes
is the most common form of diabetes. People who are overweight and inactive are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals. Over the years, high blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputation.
Symptoms
More than 6 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes and do not know it. Many have no signs or symptoms; others have symptoms but do not suspect diabetes. Symptoms include:
- Increased thirst and hunger
- Fatigue
- Increased urination, especially at night
- Weight loss
- Blurred vision
- Sores that do not heal
- Tingling in feet or loss of feeling in feet
Diagnosis
The following tests are used for diagnosis:
- A
fasting plasma glucose test
measures blood glucose after a person has gone at least 8 hours without eating. - An
oral glucose tolerance test
measures blood glucose after a person has gone at least 8 hours without eating and 2 hours after drinking a glucose-containing beverage. - A
random plasma glucose test
checks blood glucose without regard to when a person ate his or her last meal.
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