Diabetes A-Z
Diabetes and Your Health
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.
Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar (also called glucose) and released into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.
If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.
There isn’t a cure yet for diabetes, but losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active can really help. Taking medicine as needed, getting diabetes self-management education and support, and keeping health care appointments can also reduce the impact of diabetes on your life.
Learn More About Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Types of Diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant).
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake) that stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop quickly. It’s usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults). You may not notice any symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood sugar tested if you’re at risk. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes.
Learn More About Gestational Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
PreDiabetes
In the United States, 88 million adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. What’s more, more than 84% of them don’t know they have it. With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes raises your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The good news is if you have prediabetes, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program can help you take healthy steps to reverse it.
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Risk Factors Type 1
Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an immune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as clear as for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Known risk factors include:
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Family history: Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 1 diabetes.
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Age: You can get type 1 diabetes at any age, but it’s more likely to develop when you’re a child, teen, or young adult.
In the United States, whites are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes than African Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans.
Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Learn More About The Types of Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Risk Factors Type 2
You’re at risk for developing type 2 diabetes if you:
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Have prediabetes
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Are overweight
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Are 45 years or older
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Have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
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Are physically active less than 3 times a week
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Have ever had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
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Are African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, or Alaska Native (some Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are also at higher risk)
If you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease you may also be at risk for type 2 diabetes.
You can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes with simple, proven lifestyle changes such as losing weight if you’re overweight, eating healthier, and getting regular physical activity
Learn More About Type 2 Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Fast Facts
The Big Picture
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More than 34 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have it.
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More than 88 million US adults—over a third—have prediabetes, and more than 84% of them don’t know they have it.
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Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States (and may be underreported).
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Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes; type 1 diabetes accounts for approximately 5-10%.
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In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled as the American population has aged and become more overweight or obese.
Cost
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Medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $327 billion yearly.
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Medical costs for people with diabetes are twice as high as for people who don’t have diabetes.
Learn More About Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Risk Factors Prediabetes
You’re at risk for developing prediabetes if you:
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Are overweight
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Are 45 years or older
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Have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
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Are physically active less than 3 times a week
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Have ever had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
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Are African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, or Alaska Native (some Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are also at higher risk)
You can prevent or reverse prediabetes with simple, proven lifestyle changes such as losing weight if you’re overweight, eating healthier, and getting regular physical activity. The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make healthy changes that have lasting results.
Learn More About PreDiabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Risk Factors
Gestational Diabetes
You’re at risk for developing gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) if you:
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Had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy
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Have given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
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Are overweight
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Are more than 25 years old
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Have a family history of type 2 diabetes
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Have a hormone disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
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Are African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander
Gestational diabetes usually goes away after your baby is born but increases your risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen, and is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life too.
Before you get pregnant, you may be able to prevent gestational diabetes by losing weight if you’re overweight, eating healthier, and getting regular physical activity.
Learn More About Gestational Diabetes HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Ever heard of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? If you’re a woman who has had trouble getting pregnant, you might have. Just about everyone else? Probably not.
What is PCOS?
PCOS is one of the most common causes of female infertility, affecting 6% to 12% (as many as 5 million) of US women of reproductive age. But it’s a lot more than that. This lifelong health condition continues far beyond the child-bearing years.
Women with PCOS are often insulin resistant; their bodies can make insulin but can’t use it effectively, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes. They also have higher levels of androgens (male hormones that females also have), which can stop eggs from being released (ovulation) and cause irregular periods, acne, thinning scalp hair, and excess hair growth on the face and body.
Women with PCOS can develop serious health problems, especially if they are overweight:
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Diabetes—more than half of women with PCOS develop type 2 diabetes by age 40. Learn more HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Symptoms
If you have any of the following diabetes symptoms, see your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested:
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Urinate (pee) a lot, often at night
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Are very thirsty
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Lose weight without trying
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Are very hungry
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Have blurry vision
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Have numb or tingling hands or feet
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Feel very tired
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Have very dry skin
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Have sores that heal slowly
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Have more infections than usual
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
PreDiabetes and your chance to prevent type 2 diabetes
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 88 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 84% don’t know they have it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
The good news is that if you have prediabetes, the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
What Causes Prediabetes?
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that acts like a key to let blood sugar into cells for use as energy. If you have prediabetes, the cells in your body don’t respond normally to insulin. Your pancreas makes more insulin to try to get cells to respond. Eventually your pancreas can’t keep up, and your blood sugar rises, setting the stage for prediabetes—and type 2 diabetes down the road.
Learn More About Diabetes Prevention HERE
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
PreDiabetes and your chance to prevent type 2 diabetes - part 2
If you have prediabetes, losing a small amount of weight if you’re overweight and getting regular physical activity can lower your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. A small amount of weight loss means around 5% to 7% of your body weight, just 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person. Regular physical activity means getting at least 150 minutes a week of brisk walking or a similar activity. That’s just 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
A lifestyle change program offered through the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help you make those changes—and make them stick. Through the program, you can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 58% (71% if you’re over age 60). Highlights include:
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Working with a trained coach to make realistic, lasting lifestyle changes.
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Discovering how to eat healthy and add more physical activity into your day.
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Finding out how to manage stress, stay motivated, and solve problems that can slow your progress.
Learn More About Pre-Diabetes Here
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes Test
You’ll need to get your blood sugar tested to find out for sure if you have prediabetes or type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes. Testing is simple, and results are usually available quickly.
Tests for Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, and Prediabetes
Your doctor will have you take one or more of the following blood tests to confirm the diagnosis:
A1C Test
The A1C test measures your average blood sugar level over the past 2 or 3 months. An A1C below 5.7% is normal, between 5.7 and 6.4% indicates you have prediabetes, and 6.5% or higher indicates you have diabetes.
Fasting Blood Sugar Test
This measures your blood sugar after an overnight fast (not eating). A fasting blood sugar level of 99 mg/dL or lower is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes.
Learn More Here About Diabetes Testing
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and NIH
