When Diabetes is the Diagnosis

The Facts About Diabetes
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, the essential process which converts foods to fuels and other materials the body needs to sustain life. Normally, the process is continuous, despite wide variations in meal pattern and composition, because hormones tell the body how to use the products of digestion. A delicate balance is maintained between the need to utilize nutrients immediately and the need to store them for later.

A key factor is the management of sugars and starches, which can be converted into either glucose, the body’s most accessible fuel source, or into glycogen and fat, the body’s stored fuels. Insulin is the hormone that regulates sugar metabolism, and a source of failure when the disease known properly as diabetes mellitus develops. Simply stated, diabetes is a disease of insulin insufficiency that may result from an inadequate supply of insulin, an inability of the body to use insulin effectively or a combination of these deficiencies. Either way, energy production is impaired, affecting not just the supply of available fuel, but the functioning of all body organs and systems as well.

The Impact of Diabetes
Taking into consideration the types of complications which can develop over the years with diabetes, it is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Costs of the disease are significant, with an estimated yearly loss of $92 billion in the United States from lost productivity, disability, medical care and premature deaths. To the person who has diabetes, however, the impact is more personal. An increased risk of heart and kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage, dental problems and serious foot and leg problems are all complications associated with diabetes. Treatment involves daily management of blood sugars so that an active and healthy life can be attained.

The Vocabulary of Diabetes
The terminology people use to describe diabetes can be confusing, and may contribute to the fact that as many as eight million people have the disease and don’t know it. Diabetes mellitus is the proper name for the disease; however, because it represents a disturbance in the body’s use of sugar, the term “sugar diabetes” was once commonly used. Other terms also may be used to define specific types of diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes most commonly develops in childhood or by late adolescence. Type 1 diabetes has also been called juvenile diabetes and insulin-dependent diabetes in the past.

Type 2 diabetes most commonly develops during a person’s middle years. However, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents is increasing at an alarming rate. Type 2 diabetes has also been called adult-onset diabetes and non-insulin dependent diabetes in the past.

Secondary diabetes is a type of diabetes caused by another medical problem. If the primary problem can be corrected, the diabetes usually goes away.

Gestational diabetes is a problem unique to pregnancy. While a woman who has developed gestational diabetes may be at higher risk for developing gestational diabetes again, the problem of gestational diabetes is usually limited to the duration of the pregnancy. However, in 60 percent of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes will develop within 20 years.

Diabetes Treatments
While a cure has eluded medical scientists so far, progress in treatment has turned a disease that once was an immediate life-threatening condition into a manageable, though serious, chronic disease. For some people with type 2 diabetes, weight loss, exercise, monitoring blood sugar and diet modification provide good control. Some individuals with type 2 diabetes may need to take oral medication and/or insulin to adequately manage blood glucose levels. For people with type 1 diabetes, daily management involves blood glucose monitoring, insulin injections, diet and exercise to optimally manage blood glucose levels. Other newer treatments are always being investigated, and even prevention will be a reality in the future. The Diabetes Center participates in valuable national diabetes studies that may some day make a substantial difference in patients’ lives.