Types of diabetes

Types of diabetes

There are various people in the world who are affected by this disease. Diabetes is a disorder that affects the ability of the body to process fat and sugar from the food you eat, for which the pancreas normally releases insulin. However, when you are suffering from diabetes, the pancreas releases very less or no insulin, which leads to the body not being able to process blood glucose properly. It is very important for people with this condition to change their lifestyle so that they can manage this disease properly.

There are mainly three types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes
This type of diabetes is generally considered to be an autoimmune disorder. In this condition, the immune system mistakenly targets beta cells in the pancreas, taking them to be harmful external agents. Hence, the immune system attacks and destroys these beta cells, which are responsible for producing insulin in the body. This damage is permanent, and diabetes caused by this will also be permanent. The attack of the immune system may be due to a genetic factor or due to environmental factors. If you are suffering from type 1 diabetes, you will require therapy for insulin. Only ten percent of people suffer from this condition, and this type of diabetes is typically seen to develop at a younger age.

Type 2 diabetes
Most of the people suffering from diabetes develop this type of diabetes. This diabetes is not dependent on insulin, and so, it is also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes. Additionally, this type of diabetes mostly occurs in adults, also leading to it being called adult-onset diabetes. The main characteristics of this type of diabetes are the resistance of insulin, the deficiency of insulin, or both the issues. You can diagnose this type of diabetes at any age of life. Usually, type-2 diabetes doesn’t show any symptoms and cannot be diagnosed for many years due to this. You will get to know about it only when you go for routine blood examinations for blood glucose. This type of diabetes is generally linked to obesity or being overweight, but it is not necessary that every obese person may develop diabetes.

Gestational diabetes
This type of diabetes only affects a woman when she is pregnant. If a woman doesn’t have diabetes before pregnancy but develops high blood glucose levels during pregnancy, it implies that she is suffering from gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes can develop at any stage of pregnancy, but mostly affects women in the second half. It is due to the placenta making the insulin less effective in the mother, which leads to a buildup of blood glucose. It is very important to treat this type of diabetes as early as possible as it may lead to various complications in the child otherwise, such as breathing issues, obesity, and type-2 diabetes.

Treatment for diabetes is undertaken according to the type of diabetes one is suffering from. Certain lifestyle changes also provide better results.