Diabetes Mellitus or just “diabetes” was believed to be only an insulin deficit disease. But it has been widely uncovered the truth.
Diabetes Mellitus or just “diabetes” was believed to be only an insulin deficit disease. But it has been widely uncovered the truth.
What is it Diabetes Mellitus?
Diabetes mellitus or just diabetes as is known by the population. It is a metabolic disorder that involves blood sugar and needs long-term medical care. This condition represents a concern, must be adequately managed to avoid the foreseeable drawbacks that it carries.
It entails an elevation of glucose in the blood (blood sugar level) due to numerous hormonal changes in the body. Insulin and glucagon are the main hormones implicated in these processes of regulating blood sugar, the former given to lack of effectiveness or production, and the latter due to overactivity. The critical function of the insulin is to downgrade the levels of glucose in the blood if it fails to do a proper job; hence, the glucose levels rise. On the contrary, glucagon enhances the glucose levels in the blood, so if its function is maintained or heightened in this situation of a lack of insulin, it would similarly support the elevation of glucose levels in the blood.
A strict regulation between insulin secretion and action must exist, creating a loop for the healthy development of the so-called insulin-sensitive tissues and regulating blood sugar. These tissues are the liver, muscle, and fatty (adipose) tissue. When insulin resistance or lack of production impaired the loop, blood sugar rises, and these tissues modify themselves to an unhealthy condition or even illness.
How many types of diabetes mellitus there are?
There are two types of distinct types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where beta cells, which are the insulin producers, are early destroyed in the pancreas. It has a strong genetic component, and children are the most affected because they debut with the disease. On the contrary, type 2 diabetes occurs as a result of a deficient insulin receptor in tissues that utterly causes impairment of beta cells to function in the pancreas. A mixture of genetic and lifestyle factors creates it, and obese adults are mostly affected.
The two types cause an increase in blood sugar levels, but in different ways and patients. Hence, each one has its symptoms, complaints, and treatment. Typically, type 1 diabetes patient is a child with an acute presentation of symptoms after latent autoimmune diabetes hatch. In contrast, type 2 diabetes is an older obese adult with many other conditions underneath for an extended period.
Other illnesses also have the term diabetes within and are included in this condition. Many of the diseases here displayed would have blood glucose problems such as gestational diabetes, prediabetes, juvenile diabetes, monogenic diabetes, or others due to similarly in symptoms as diabetes insipidus. However, these conditions represent a minority of the cases and are beyond the scope of this article.
What is prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a condition where there is a high blood sugar level but not enough to be called diabetes. It is ideal to find patients in this state of the disease because for getting low blood sugar lifestyle modifications would be more than enough. Poor blood sugar control requires adequate measures. The patient could be developing type 2 diabetes. Usually, the protocols for managing type 2 diabetes are used in prediabetes but without any drug. Luckily, the percentage of patients that follow through a diabetes state substantially reduces.
It can be dangerous without treatment?
Several complications exist for diabetic patients that are not following a proper treatment such as cardiovascular illnesses (high blood pressure), cognitive decline, inner-eye harms, kidney illness, neurologic impairment, lung or ear infections, even cancer.
How common it is?
The International Diabetes Federation estimated in 2015 that 1 in 11 adults aged from 20 to 79 years have diabetes mellitus worldwide. This statistic accounted for 415 million adults. Unfourtanely, it is expected to rise to 624 billion by 2040, specifically in countries that are experiencing an upgrade in their economic conditions.
Importantly, in 2017 it was established that 9.4% of the whole population of the United States had a diagnosis of diabetes. Also, in that same study, a third of the adult American population had a diagnosis of prediabetes, which is, as I already told you, just a preceding step for being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
What is the main cause of diabetes?
A genetic background for this condition is significant; therefore, if a family member has this disease, there is a likelihood of having it also. However, the environmental factor also plays a vital role in the interaction between both components. In a few words, subjects that are susceptible by nature. And also have an unhealthy lifestyle (people with obesity or high-calorie intake) will ultimately develop the condition. The vast majority of type 2 diabetes patients carry an obesity diagnosis. So it must be no surprise that many cases are prevented just by lifestyle modifications that can lower weight.
How can I know that I have the disease?
For protecting your health, we have developed a Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus symptoms checker to survey how likely it is that you have this awful illness. It would only take a few minutes and might save your life!
Originally Published on: Symptoms.Care
