What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body has a problem making the hormone insulin or uses insulin abnormally. Insulin is a hormone that is used by cells in the body to use and regulate blood sugar. The sugar in the blood is in the form of glucose and is needed by the cells in the body to produce energy. The cause of diabetes is gradually being learned through research. Genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.
There are over twenty million diabetics in the United States, or about 7% of the population. 14 million people know that they are diabetic , however 6 million people (or nearly one-third) do not know that they have diabetes.
To determine whether or not a patient has diabetes or pre-diabetes or doctors can conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). These tests can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends the FPG because it is easier, faster, and less expensive to perform.
In the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.
In the OGTT test, a person’s blood glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood OGTT glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, the person tested has pre-diabetes. If the two-hour blood OGTT glucose level is at 200 mg/dl or higher, the person tested has diabetes.
Major Types of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes
Results from the body’s failure to produce insulin, the hormone that allows the cells of the body to take up and use glucose for fuel. About 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. The destruction of insulin producing cells in the pancreas by the immune system is the cause of type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes
Results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Most Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity and lack of exercise which seem to make the cells in the body less able to respond normally to insulin.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases in the United States each year.
Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a common condition that occurs when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. There are 54 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes.
