Diabetes: Meaning, origin, Types, Risk factors, Symptoms, Complications of diabetes and diagnoses
Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disease, characterized by hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels. Normal digestion of food produces glucose, which enters the bloodstream and serves as the body’s fuel. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps in transferring glucose from the bloodstream into the liver, muscles, and fat for use as fuel.
There are two main reasons why diabetics are unable to remove this sugar from their bloodstream:
1) Their cells do not react to insulin correctly, a condition known as insulin resistance.
2) Their pancreas does not create enough insulin. This explains why blood sugar levels are elevated in diabetics.
Origin
The word diabetes means “siphon” in Greek. In the second century A.D., a Greek physician named Aretus the Cappadocian gave the illness the name diabainein. He talked of people who had polyuria, or the overflowing of water, like a siphon. After the English language adopted the Medieval Latin word diabetes, the word became “diabetes.” Although it’s more popularly known as diabetes, Thomas Willis added mellitus to the phrase in 1675. Mel is Latin for “honey,” and persons with diabetes have high blood and urine glucose levels, which is sweet like honey. The literal meaning of diabetes mellitus may be “siphoning off sweet water.”
Types of diabetes:
1) Type 1 diabetes(T1D)/ Juvenile diabetes/ Insulin-dependent diabetes
It is also known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a condition that can strike adults or children at any age. It is brought on by the pancreas ceasing to produce insulin as a result of the death of the beta cells in the pancreas or the inactivity of these cells. Insulin injections must be administered daily to affected persons to maintain normal blood glucose levels. Although the exact origins of T1D are unknown, scientists think that both hereditary and environmental factors play a role.
2) Type 2 diabetes/ Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (T2D or NIDDM)
This is the most prevalent type of diabetes, and it usually strikes adults. However, teens and young adults are also receiving diagnoses for type 2 diabetes or its precursor, pre-diabetes, due to rising obesity rates and sedentary lifestyles. Insulin is not properly absorbed by adipose, muscle, or liver cells in type 2 diabetes. We refer to this as insulin resistance. Because of this, blood sugar accumulates in the circulation and is unable to enter these cells to be stored for energy. The development of insulin resistance is a sluggish process that takes time.
3) Gestational diabetes: This is diabetes initially identified during pregnancy. In the United States, gestational diabetes affects up to eight pregnant women out of every hundred. Pregnancy-related weight gain and hormone changes can affect insulin action, leading to elevated blood sugar. Although gestational diabetes typically goes away after pregnancy, women who have had it have a 40–60% probability of getting type 2 diabetes within five to ten years.
Diabetes risk factors
The chance of acquiring diabetes is influenced by the following factors:
Diabetes type 1
1) Diabetes in the family 2) Pancreatic disease 3) A pancreatic infection or related disease
Type 2 diabetes
1) Being overweight 2) Diabetes in the family 3) Gestational diabetes history 4) Ethnic background: Diabetes is more common in Asian Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. 5) Advanced age 6) High blood pressure
Gestational diabetes
1) Diabetes in the family 2) Being overweight before pregnancy 3) Being a member of an ethnic group at high risk (as previously noted) 4) Previously experiencing gestational diabetes 5) Having a baby that weighs more than nine pounds
Symptoms
1. Type 1 diabetes: It is characterized by rapid weight loss, frequent urination, increased hunger and thirst, weakness, exhaustion, nausea, and vomiting.
2. Type 2 diabetes: Some persons have no symptoms at all, while others have a gradual onset of symptoms. These include blurred vision, difficult-to-heal skin, gum or bladder infections, tingling or numbness in the hands or feet, and any of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
3. Gestational diabetes: People should be examined for this disorder because symptoms may or may not appear during pregnancy. The symptoms are identical to those of type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes complications
If diabetes is not well managed, it can result in the following issues:
1. Diabetic nephropathy, a kidney condition
2. Diabetic retinopathy, or blindness
3. Stroke and heart disease. The risk of heart disease and stroke is two to four times higher for diabetics.
4. Damage to the nerves
5. Skin and foot sores that could lead to amputations 6. Diabetic coma brought on by dangerously elevated blood sugar
How is a diagnosis of diabetes made?
1. Fasting blood glucose level – It is the primary way of detecting diabetes in children and nonpregnant people. After an 8-hour fast, a blood glucose level of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or above is indicative of diabetes. People who have high blood sugar levels but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes are said to have prediabetes, which is defined as levels between 100 and 126 mg/dL. People who have prediabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
2. Hemoglobin A1c test: This blood test indicates how effectively you are managing your diabetes. It displays the blood glucose average for the preceding three months.
3. The oral glucose tolerance test, or OGTT, measures how well your body processes sugar. After consuming a beverage that contains 75 grams of glucose dissolved in water, a blood glucose level of 200 mg/dL or above is indicative of diabetes.
The OGTT measures blood glucose levels, which are used to identify gestational diabetes. Adults over 45, overweight children, and adults with additional risk factors should all be screened for type 2 diabetes even if they do not exhibit any symptoms.
Diabetes therapy and management
It includes the following, although there is no known cure for the disease:
1. Insulin injection
2. Loss of weight
3. Continuous blood glucose monitoring using self-monitoring devices like glucometers or regular blood glucose tests.
4. Oral drugs to reduce blood sugar (as prescribed by a doctor)
5. A nutritious diet that includes meals with fewer calories, balanced carbohydrate intake, and healthy monounsaturated fats. To keep blood glucose levels close to normal, patients should create a meal plan in collaboration with their physician or dietitian.
How to determine whether you have diabetes, prediabetes or neither
Methods for identifying if you have prediabetes, diabetes, or neither
Three distinct methods (tests) are available to doctors to assess if a patient has diabetes, prediabetes, or a normal metabolism:
The A1C test indicates diabetes if it is at least 6.5%, prediabetes if it is between 5.7% and 5.99%, and normal if it is less than 5.7%.
The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test indicates diabetes if it is at least 126 mg/dl, pre-diabetes if it is between 100 and 125.99 mg/dl, and normal if it is less than 100 mg/dl.
A patient with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) has an abnormal value after the FPG.
Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results indicate diabetes if they are at least 200 mg/dl, prediabetes if they are between 140 and 199.9 mg/dl, and normal if they are less than 140 mg/dl.
Decreased glucose tolerance (IGT) is indicated by an abnormal value after the OGTT.