We note that many people tend to use various artificial sweeteners in their diet, in order to help control their blood sugar levels, especially by diabetics. What are the types of diabetes? What are the differences between them? And who gets infected with the different types? Here are the answers below:
Types of diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes, here are the details related to them in the following:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, and autoimmune diseases are diseases that occur when the body''s immune system works against a part of the body.
Its characteristics include the following
The immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells responsible for insulin production in the pancreas when developing type 1 diabetes.
The pancreas produces very little insulin, or it may not do it at all.
A person with type 1 diabetes must receive insulin every day for the rest of his life.
Type 1 diabetes begins to develop in children and young adults, but it may appear at any age.
If type 1 diabetes is not diagnosed and treated, the patient may enter a coma that could lead to his death. This phenomenon is known as Diabeticketoacidosis.
Causes of type 1 diabetes
Until now, scientists do not know what is the exact reason why the body''s immune system attacks beta cells, but they believe that the factors causing this disease include the following:
Autoimmune.
heredity.
environmental factors.
Possible involvement of some types of viruses.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes
Symptoms of this type of diabetes usually appear over a short period of time, although sometimes the destruction of beta cells begins several years before symptoms appear.
These symptoms include
extreme thirst
frequent urination.
Constant hunger.
low weight.
Blurred vision.
extreme tiredness
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes among people, and it occupies between 90 and 95% of all patients with diabetes.
Characteristics of this type of diabetes include the following
This type of diabetes is usually associated with advanced age, obesity, heredity, family medical history with the disease, personal medical history such as cases of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity.
About 80% of patients with type 2 diabetes were overweight before developing the disease.
In patients with type 2 diabetes, the pancreas produces enough insulin, but for reasons that are not understood, the body is not able to use and benefit from the insulin effectively. This condition is known as insulin resistance.
After several years, insulin production decreases, and the patient''s condition becomes similar to that of patients with type 1 diabetes, as glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot use it as an energy source effectively.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes
Symptoms of this type of diabetes begin to appear and develop gradually, and they do not appear suddenly like type 1 diabetes. These symptoms include:
tiredness or nausea
frequent urination.
abnormally thirsty
low weight.
Blurred vision.
Frequent infections.
Slowed healing of injuries and wounds.
But some patients don''t show any symptoms at all.
Pregnancy diabetes
This type of diabetes occurs when a woman develops diabetes only during pregnancy.
As with type 2 diabetes, this type of diabetes is fairly common, especially among women with a family history of diabetes.
Most women do not show symptoms of gestational diabetes, so the glucose level is checked between the twenty-fourth and twenty-eighth weeks of pregnancy. Symptoms of gestational diabetes may be similar to those of other types of diabetes, such as: thirst, dry mouth, and constant fatigue.
Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.
Who gets different types of diabetes?
Diabetes is not a contagious disease and it cannot be transmitted from one person to another, but there are many factors that increase the risk of developing diabetes, as previously mentioned.
Type 1 diabetes affects men and women at the same rate, while type 2 diabetes is more prevalent among the elderly, especially those who are overweight.
