Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the body loses the ability to properly process sugars (glucose). The full medical name is “Diabetes Mellitus”.
Diabetes is very common, affecting about 4% of the population (1 in 25), but its early mild symptoms mean that it is estimated that another 4% of
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Overview: Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic disease with a good short-term prognosis, but the risk of many long-term complications after years or decades. It affects about 4% of the US population, but due to early symptoms being quite mild, it
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Introduction: Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach
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Symptoms of Diabetes
The symptoms of diabetes vary with each person, with age, and with the type and severity of the diabetes. Nevertheless, there are some common patterns in the types of symptoms.
Mild Early Symptoms: The early symptoms of diabetes are very
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Symptoms of Diabetes
What are the symptoms of diabetes? One of the key dangers of diabetes is that it often doesn’t display any symptoms at all, making it hard to diagnose until it’s severe. Common symptoms generally include:1
- Unusual thirst ...
Complications: Diabetes
Diabetes has many complications, both short-term and long-term. The short-term complications include both deadly and some easily resolved complications. Long-term complications tend to be serious but may not appear for years or decades.
Short-Term Deadly
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Complications of Diabetes
DM
- Lowers life expectancy by up to 15 years.
- Increases the risk of heart disease by 2 to 4 times.
- Is the leading cause of kidney failure, lower limb amputations, and adult-onset blindness.3, 4
Source: Healthy People (DHHS)
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Causes of Diabetes
The causes of diabetes are not fully understood. However, the causes definitely differ depending on the type of diabetes, whether Type 1 Diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes results from the body losing the ability to produce insulin
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Causes of Diabetes
Both aging and obesity can also bring changes to the way your body processes glucose—the sugar your body makes from food and uses for energy. These changes can lead to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease, blindness
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Causes List for Diabetes
Some possible causes of Diabetes or similar disorders may include:4
- ACTH-dependent Cushing syndrome (Diabetes mellitus)
- ACTH-independent Cushing syndrome (Diabetes mellitus)
- ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (Diabetes mellitus)
- ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma (Diabetes mellitus) ...
Types of Diabetes
Diabetes is more properly called “Diabetes Mellitus”, its medical name. There are two main types of Diabetes Mellitus, which are called Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. But there are various other less common forms, and there are also
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Types of Diabetes
There are three main forms of diabetes:
- Type 1, in which the body does not make enough insulin
- Type 2, in which the body does not make enough insulin or it doesn’t use the insulin properly
- Gestational (pronounced je ...
Diagnosis: Diabetes
Diabetes diagnosis is typically confirmed by a doctor using a blood glucose test. However, early suspicion of a possible diabetes diagnosis may arise from either its symptoms, the symptoms of its complications (e.g. leg rashes), or by a screening test
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Genetics of Diabetes
Genes provide the instructions for making proteins within the cell. If a gene has a mutation, the protein may not function properly. Genetic mutations that cause diabetes affect proteins that play a role in the ability of the body to
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Risk Factors for Diabetes
Disparities in diabetes risk:
- People from minority populations are more frequently affected by type 2 diabetes. Minority groups constitute 25 percent of all adult patients with diabetes in the United States and represent the majority of children and adolescents with ...
Misdiagnosis: Diabetes
The most likely diagnostic problem with diabetes is failure to diagnose it early because patients do not recognize its early mild symptoms. Once a doctor is seen, diabetes is not often completely misdiagnosed because it is well-known to physicians
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Treatments: Diabetes
Diabetes treatment depends on the type and severity of the diabetes. It also involves the treatment of any complications or other associated conditions related to the diabetes. Consult with your doctor or medical specialists about the many issues of treatment
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Prevention: Diabetes
There’s no pill, supplement, or vaccination to prevent diabetes. The best prevention for Type 2 Diabetes is a healthy lifestyle with diet, weight control, and exercise. However, there is no known prevention for Type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile Diabetes).
Type 2 Diabetes
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Research for Diabetes
Although the NICHD studies different aspects of all types of diabetes, the NICHD is not the primary resource for patient information about type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse at http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov and
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Names and Terminology
Common Name
- Diabetes
Medical or Scientific Names
- Diabetes mellitus (pronounced mell-EH-tiss)
- Gestational diabetes mellitus
Source: NICHD (NIH)7
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References
- Source: CDC: cdc.gov/ diabetes/ basics/ diabetes.html
- Source: Healthy People (DHHS): healthypeople.gov/ 2020/ topics-objectives/ topic/ diabetes
- Source: NIH News in Health (NIH): newsinhealth.nih.gov/ issue/ jul2015/ feature2
- Source: Algorithmically Generated List
- Source: NIDDK (NIH): niddk.nih.gov/ health-information/ diabetes/ overview/ what-is-diabetes/ monogenic-neonatal-mellitus-mody
- Source: NICHD (NIH): nichd.nih.gov/ health/ topics/ diabetes/ conditioninfo/ Pages/ symptoms.aspx
- Source: NICHD (NIH): nichd.nih.gov/ health/ topics/ diabetes/ Pages/ default.aspx
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Note: This site is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. See your doctor or other qualified medical professional for all your medical needs.