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    About Diabetes

    Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Approximately, 23.6 million people in the United States, 7.8% of the population, have diabetes. While an estimated 17.9 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 5.7 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease. The most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes.

     

    Type 1 Diabetes

    Type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, the only cells in the body that make the hormone, insulin. Insulin “unlocks” the cells of the body allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. Someone who has Type 1 diabetes must take insulin everyday to survive. It becomes a delicate balance of finding the right amount of insulin necessary to keep the blood sugar level as close to normal as possible. The person with diabetes has to check their blood sugar levels often and then inject themselves with the correct amount of insulin to counteract the amount of sugar. This mimics the action of the pancreas.

    It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes. It is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as Juvenile diabetes. Conditions associated with Type 1 diabetes include hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis and celiac disease. Having Type 1 diabetes increases your risk for many serious complications including heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney damage (nephropathy).

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    Type 2 Diabetes

    Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance; a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin combined with relative insulin deficiency. The body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy. It takes the sugar and starches that your body has broken down into glucose from the blood into the cells.

    In adults, Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.

    Gestational Diabetes

    Gestational diabetes is a form of glucose intolerance diagnosed in some women during pregnancy. During pregnancy, gestational diabetes requires treatment to normalize maternal blood glucose levels to avoid complications in the infant. It affects about 4% of all pregnant women; around 135,000 cases in the United States each year. Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently among African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and American Indians. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years.

    Determining if you have diabetes

    In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, healthcare providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes. With 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 glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dL, the person tested has pre-diabetes. If the two-hour blood glucose lever is at 200 mg/dL or higher, the person tested has diabetes.

    For more information visit the American Diabetes Association Web site at
    http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

    Helpful links for additional information:

    Diabetes Action network
    http://www.nfb.org/nfb/diabetics.asp?SnID=1109714493

    Voice of Diabetic
    http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Voice_of_the_Diabetic.asp?SnID=1399985812

    U.S. Food & Drug Administration
    http://www.fda.gov/diabetes/index.html

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes

    National Diabetes Education Program
    http://www.ndep.nih.gov