Types of Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes was previously called
insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset
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 that regulates blood
glucose. To survive, people with type 1 diabetes must have
insulin delivered by injection or a pump.
This form of diabetes usually strikes
children and young adults, although disease onset can occur
at any age. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5% to 10% of all
diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors for type 1
diabetes may be autoimmune, genetic, or environmental. There
is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes. Several clinical
trials of methods of the prevention of type 1 diabetes are
currently in progress or are being planned.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes was previously called
non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or
adult-onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90%
to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. It usually begins
as insulin resistance,
 a disorder in which the cells do not
use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the
pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it. 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.
African Americans, Hispanic/Latino
Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and
Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders are at
particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes and its
complications. Clinically-based reports and regional studies
suggest that type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents,
although still rare, is being diagnosed more frequently,
particularly in American Indians, African Americans, and
Hispanic/Latino Americans.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a form of
glucose intolerance diagnosed in some women during
pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently among
African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and American
Indians. It is also more common among obese women and women
with a family history of diabetes. During
pregnancy,gestational diabetes requires treatment to
normalize maternal blood glucose levels to avoid
complications in theinfant.
After pregnancy, 5% to 10% of women
with gestational diabetes are found to have type 2 diabetes.
Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20% to 50%
chance of developing diabetes in the next 5 10 years. Other
types of diabetes result from specific genetic conditions
(such as maturity-onset diabetes of youth), surgery, drugs,
malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses. Such types of
diabetes account for 1% to 5% of all diagnosed cases.
- National Institute Diabetes
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