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Diabetes, or diabetes mellitus, is a chronic health condition that affects how your body uses food for energy. Your body is unable to move sugar or glucose from your blood into your cells, so you get excess in your blood.
What Different Types Of Diabetes Are There
About 34.2 million people in the United States are living with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Statistical Report. This represents 10.5% of the population. But not everyone has the same type of diabetes, so it’s important to know the different types.
How Many Types Of Diabetes Are There?
There are four main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and a condition known as prediabetes, in which you have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough (yet) to qualify as the type. 2 diabetes.
With all four, prompt diagnosis is critical—as is compliance with your diabetes treatment. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels and increase your risk of developing a variety of health problems (some life-threatening), so it’s important to start treatment—and stick with it—as soon as you’re diagnosed.
But don’t despair. No matter what form of diabetes you have, you can live a very full and healthy life. Adopting and embracing positive behavior changes can not only lead to effective diabetes management, but also help you live a healthier life in general, says Lucille Hughes, DNP, director of diabetes education for Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York.
The pancreas does not produce insulin, or there is not enough insulin to move sugar from the blood into the cells
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Have high blood sugar that averages 6.5% or higher as measured by an A1C test or a fasting blood sugar level of 126 or higher
Elevated blood sugar levels (A1c between 5.7% and 6.4% or fasting blood sugar levels of 100-125) that are higher than normal but not high enough to be type 2 diabetes
Formerly known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, type 1 diabetes is much less common than type 2. The CDC estimates that 5%-10% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. People with a close family member with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk .
If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas either doesn’t produce insulin at all or only produces a small amount of this hormone—not enough to help the sugar in your bloodstream and your cells use it for energy. As a result, the blood sugar level is too high.
Type 1 Vs Type 2 Diabetes: How Are They Different?
If you or your child develop symptoms of high blood sugar, seek medical attention immediately. A health care provider may begin the diagnosis process by testing blood sugar levels and possibly performing a test to detect autoantibodies that are common in people with type 1 diabetes.
Once you’re diagnosed, you’ll need to monitor your blood sugar and ketones regularly, and you’ll start treatment with insulin, either by injection or an insulin pump, to keep your blood sugar in a healthy range. If your body doesn’t have enough insulin to get sugar from the blood into your cells, a very serious complication called diabetic ketoacidosis can develop. You also need to watch for signs of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.
Over time, you may develop other complications of type 1 diabetes. These may include diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and nephropathy. However, maintaining good blood sugar control can help reduce the risk.
The vast majority of diabetes cases are type 2. About 90%-95% of the 34 million Americans with diabetes have type 2.
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Similar to type 1 diabetes, in type 2 diabetes your body still has trouble moving sugar into your cells—but not because your pancreas has stopped producing insulin. Your pancreas continues to produce insulin, but your cells are not sensitive to it and cannot use it as they should.
People who are more prone to developing type 2 diabetes are those who are overweight, lead a sedentary lifestyle, are 45+, have a family history of type 2 or have a history of smoking. Certain races and ethnic groups are also at higher risk, such as people who have polycystic ovary syndrome, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.
Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed with a glycated hemoglobin blood test or A1C test, which shows your average blood sugar level as a percentage over the last three months. A normal number would be under 5.7%. To qualify for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, the number would be 6.5% or higher.
In terms of symptoms, they are similar to those of type 1 diabetes. “The onset of type 2 diabetes is usually slower, and the symptoms are not as noticeable as those of type 1 diabetes,” says Aleida Saenz, APRN, FNP-BC, CDCES, director of patient education at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI). “For these reasons, many people mistakenly overlook the warning signs. They may also think that the symptoms are signs of other conditions, such as aging, overwork or hot weather. Over time, you can develop similar complications of type 2 diabetes as type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes May Be Two Conditions That Need Different Treatments
Once diagnosed, medication or insulin may be needed. Metformin is usually prescribed for people with type 2; it reduces your liver’s production of glucose and improves your body’s sensitivity to insulin, according to the Mayo Clinic. There are a wide variety of other oral diabetes medications in different drug classes that you can take, such as sulfonylureas, meglitinides, SGLT2 inhibitors, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, DPP-4 inhibitors, and others.
Many people with type 2 diabetes can lower their blood sugar levels by making behavioral changes, such as losing weight and improving their diet.
As you might guess from the name, gestational diabetes affects pregnant women. It is a condition that develops in pregnant women when their blood sugar levels are too high. Between 2% and 10% of all pregnancies each year in the United States are affected by gestational diabetes, according to the CDC.
A screening test between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy is routine: the woman will undergo an oral glucose tolerance test to measure her blood sugar levels.
What Are The Types Of Diabetes? [infographic]
Many, but not all, pregnant women will need insulin injections during pregnancy after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. For many, blood sugar levels will return to normal after giving birth. But they will still need follow-up in the postpartum period – and will also need to stay awake longer because half of all pregnant women with gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes can be a precursor to type 2. When you’re diagnosed with prediabetes, it means your blood sugar levels are rising above normal levels — but not yet high enough to qualify as type 2 diabetes. On an A1C test, your levels will range somewhere between 5.7% and 6.4%.
About 88 million people in the United States have prediabetes, according to the CDC’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report. The prevalence is higher in men than in women. And unfortunately, you may not even know you have prediabetes, as the CDC estimates that as many as 84% of people with prediabetes are unaware. The danger is that you can’t take steps to reverse it before it becomes type 2 diabetes.
“The complications are silent,” says Hughes. “So the patient doesn’t get physical reinforcement if he says his behavior is not good.” Because you may not be aware that you have prediabetes, you may want to talk to your doctor about checking your blood sugar every year, especially if you have one of the risk factors (which are the same as type 2 diabetes).
All About The Most Common Types Of Diabetes
You can control some, but not all, risk factors for the four types of diabetes. However, if you have any of these risk factors, discuss your diabetes risk with your doctor. The earlier you can intervene, the better, explains Neelem Patel, MD, an endocrinologist in Los Angeles, California, who is affiliated with Adventist Health-White Memorial. “In general, you try to fight the complications of diabetes as much as you can,” she says.
“A wide variety of computerized diabetes devices are available today to help people better manage their blood sugar levels, while research into a diabetes cure is advancing,” Saenz says. Advances in technology include continuous glucose monitors, smart insulin pens, combined CGM-insulin pumps, and even mobile apps.
But it’s still important to use technology properly and stay consistent with the diabetes care plan your healthcare team helps you develop. The complications of diabetes are very real, but strict management of your blood sugar levels can help you avoid them for longer. Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that affect blood sugar levels. We try to understand what diabetes is and its types, risk factors, signs and symptoms, complications and treatment.
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