Types, Causes and Prevention of Diabetes

                                                                          Types, Causes and Prevention of Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose. Mismanagement of diabetes can lead to serious consequences, causing damage to a wide range of your body's organs and tissues — including your heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves

Types of Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your immune system, the body’s system for fighting infection, attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Scientists think type 1 diabetes is caused by genes and environmental factors, such as viruses, that might trigger the disease. 

Type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes—the most common form of diabetes—is caused by several factors, including lifestyle factors and genes.

Causes of Type2 Diabetes

Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity

You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight or have obesity. Extra weight sometimes causes insulin resistance and is common in people with type 2 diabetes.

Insulin resistance

Type 2 diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which muscle, liver, and fat cells do not use insulin well. As a result, your body needs more insulin to help glucose enter cells. At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to keep up with the added demand. Over time, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin, and blood glucose levels rise.

Genes and family history

Having a family history of diabetes makes it more likely that a woman will develop gestational diabetes, which suggests that genes play a role. Genes may also explain why the disorder occurs more often in African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and Hispanics/Latinas.

Prevention

Lifestyle measures have been shown to be effective in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes. To help prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications, people should:

• Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight;
• Be physically active – doing at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days. More activity is required for weight control;
• Eat a healthy diet, avoiding sugar and saturated fats; and
• Avoid tobacco use – smoking increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Source: My.clevelandclinic.org, niddk.nih.gov and who.int