What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to use blood glucose, also called blood sugar. Blood glucose is one of the main sources of energy for the cells of the body and comes from the foods you eat. Insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas, is needed for glucose to get from the blood into the cells. People with diabetes either do not produce enough insulin or the insulin they do have does not work as well as it should. This causes the amount of glucose in the blood to rise, which can cause health problems over time, including heart disease, kidney disease, and vision loss.
More than 24 million people in the U.S.A. have diabetes.
1 in 5 people with diabetes do not know they have it.
Diabetes is the #1 cause of kidney failure, lower-limb amputations, and adult blindness.
What is Prediabetes?
More than 88 million adults in the U.S.A. have prediabetes
8 in 10 prediabetic adults do not know they have it
Before we talk about Type 2 diabetes (T2D), let’s learn about Prediabetes, which can be prevented with a lifestyle change like the Diabetes Prevention Program. If you have prediabetes and do not take action, it is likely that you will develop T2D over your lifetime.
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where a person’s blood glucose (sugar) level is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. One in three American adults has prediabetes, and most do not even know they have it. If you have prediabetes, you are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, as well as heart disease and stroke.
To find out if you are at risk you can have your doctor check your blood glucose levels. You can also take this simple risk test. A score of 5 or more indicates that you are at a higher risk of having prediabetes.
Types of Diabetes
The most common types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Some women may develop diabetes during pregnancy which is known as gestational diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Type 1 diabetes
People with type 1 diabetes do not make insulin or make very little. This is caused most of the time by the immune system, which normally fights infection, mistakenly destroying the cells in the pancreas that produce the insulin. This results in the pancreas no longer being able to produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults but may occur later in life. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day to survive.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Approximately 95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops most often in people over 45 years of age, but it is becoming more common in children, teens, and young adults. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease that generally begins with insulin resistance. This is a condition where insulin is being produced by the pancreas, but the cells of the body do not respond to it normally. The pancreas has to produce more and more insulin to get the cells to respond. Eventually, the pancreas can not produce enough insulin, and the blood sugar rises. Type 2 diabetes develops over many years, with few symptoms, and it can go unnoticed for a long time. For this reason, it is important to know the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes
There are several known risk factors for type 2 diabetes, some of which can be affected through lifestyle changes:
Having prediabetes
Being overweight or obese
Doing less than 3 days a week of physical activity
Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
Age 45 years or older
A history of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
People of all races and ethnicities can develop type 2 diabetes, but it is more prevalent in people who are black and Hispanic.
Know Your Numbers: Are you at Risk?
You’ll need to get your blood sugar tested by your doctor or health clinic to find out for sure if you have prediabetes, type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Testing is simple, and results are usually available quickly.
Here are the ranges for common tests that indicate prediabetes, diabetes or normal blood glucose levels.
Learn more about Diabetes and the various blood tests at the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/getting-tested.html
Managing Type 2 Diabetes
People with diabetes should work with their healthcare team to create a diabetes care plan that is appropriate for them. That team may consist of a primary care doctor, a foot and eye doctor, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator, as well as a pharmacist. Managing diabetes will certainly involve lifestyle changes that include a healthy diet and being physically active, but may also involve taking prescribed medications and insulin, losing weight for those who are overweight, and learning to manage stress among other things. Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) services help people with diabetes learn how to take the best care of themselves. People with diabetes should ask their doctor for a referral to DSMES services to help manage diabetes. They may also find support resources in their community, like the Virginia Cooperative Extension Balanced Living with Diabetes Program for people with type 2 diabetes.