Diabetes, a condition characterized by high blood sugar, affects almost 8 percent of Americans, the American Diabetes Association states. There are three kinds of diabetes: Type 1,Type 2, and gestational, with Type 2 affecting around 90 percent of people with diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs only in pregnancy. Failure of the pancreas to manufacture enough insulin causes Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, once called adult onset diabetes, is associated with insulin resistance, obesity and other lifestyle factors. Diabetes is a complicated and sometimes deadly disease.
Risk Factors
Type 1 diabetes has a genetic component but also is associated with environmental factors. Certain viruses, such as coxsackie virus and rubella, and dietary factors, such as introduction of cereals before age 4 months or after 7 months, also increases the risk, the Merck Manual reports. Type 2 is also associated with a family history of the disease, as well as being more common in people over 45, people who are overweight, those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and those who exercise less than three times a week.
Women who have a history of gestational diabetes and those who have delivered babies that weigh more than 9 lbs. are also more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. Asians, Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are also more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, according to Medline Plus, an online publication of the National Institutes of Health.
Symptoms
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes cause similar symptoms. Polydipsia, or increased thirst, polyphagia, or increased hunger, and polyuria, or increased urination, are the hallmarks of diabetes and are caused by high glucose, or sugar, levels in the blood. Weight loss, nausea, fatigue and blurred vision may also occur, Merck states. Type 2 diabetes may have no symptoms, according to the ADA.
Diagnosis
Higher than normal blood glucose levels, called hyperglycemia, is the key to a diagnose of diabetes. A fasting blood glucose of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) on two separate occasions defines diabetes.
Treatment
Treatment for diabetes includes oral medications to lower glucose levels and injectable insulin to replace low insulin levels produced by the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes always requires insulin injections, the Merck Manual states, while Type 2 may be managed by diet and exercise, oral medications or injectable insulin. Insulin comes in several forms and requires frequent blood sugar testing to adjust doses to need.
Complications
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can cause serious health complications. Diabetes affects small blood vessels, which occur all over the body. According to the Mayo Clinic, 75 percent of diabetics die from heart or blood vessel complications, and the risk of stroke doubles within the first five years after diagnosis. Kidney damage can lead to the need for transplantation, and damage to the blood vessels in the eye can lead to blindness.
Damage to the nerves, called neuropathy, leads to decreased sensation, especially in extremities, and causes numbness and tingling. Poor circulation to the feet can lead to amputation of lower extremities over time. Infections occur more often in people with diabetes. Osteoporosis, hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease are all more likely to occur in people with diabetes, the Mayo Clinic reports.
