Diabetes mellitus, or commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar (glucose).
The hormone insulin in the body normally works to move sugar from the blood to the cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes, the body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it produces.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths. As many as 48 percent of all deaths occur before the age of 70 years.
Diabetes Type
Quoted from Cleveland ClinicDiabetes is divided into 4 types, namely:
Type 1 Diabetes
This type is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body attacks itself. The insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. An estimated 10 percent of people with diabetes have Type 1.
This type is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, but can occur at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to get a daily dose of insulin
Type 2 Diabetes
This type of diabetes makes the body not produce enough insulin or the body’s cells do not respond to insulin normally. This is the most common type of diabetes. It is estimated that 95 percent of people with diabetes have Type 2 and it usually affects middle-aged and elderly people
Prediabetes
This type is the stage before type 2 diabetes. Blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but, not high enough to be officially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes gestational
This type, generally, is experienced by some women during their pregnancy. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, if you have gestational diabetes, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes may increase.
Causes of Diabetes
Primarily, any type of diabetes is caused by too much glucose in the bloodstream. Even so, quoting from Healthline, the cause can depend on the type of diabetes.
- Causes of type 1 diabetes: there is no specific cause because it is an autoimmune disease, however, genetics and viruses can be the trigger.
- Causes of type 2 diabetes: genetic factors, a poor lifestyle, being overweight or obese can be the cause of type 2 diabetes.
- Penyebab diabetes gestational: hormonal changes during pregnancy that cause the cells in a woman’s body to become less sensitive to the effects of insulin.
Symptoms of Diabetes
Quoted from Mayo Clinic, Some of the symptoms that generally appear in type 1 and 2 diabetes are as follows:
- Increased thirst
- Frequent urination
- Extreme hunger
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Blurred vision
- Wounds that are slow to heal
Diabetes Risk Factors
Same with the cause, diabetes risk factors tend to have differences depending on the type of diabetes experienced. Some of these factors are:
Type 1 diabetes: family history of type 1 diabetes, environmental factors such as exposure to viral diseases, and presence of damaging immune system cells or autoantibodies.
Type 2 diabetes: overweight, less physically active, family history of diabetes, older age, and high blood pressure.
Diabetes gestational: pregnant women over the age of 25, have prediabetes, have a family history of type 2 diabetes, and were overweight before becoming pregnant.
Diabetes Complications
If diabetes is not treated immediately, body tissues and other organs can be severely damaged. Such damage can lead to complications such as:
- Cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke
- Nerve damage causing numbness and tingling that starts in the toes or fingers and then spreads
- Kidney damage (nephropathy) which can lead to kidney failure
- Eye damage that can lead to blindness; cataract, glaucoma
- skin infection
- Erectile dysfunction
- Hearing impairment
- Depression
- Dementia
Diabetes Treatment
A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day. This is because the pancreas does not make insulin.
For the treatment of type 2 diabetes, usually, there are special medications, insulin, and lifestyle changes such as losing weight.
For people with gestational diabetes, initial treatment may be to change their diet and exercise regularly. However, if the glucose is very high, the medical team can start medication or insulin.
Diabetes Prevention
Unfortunately, type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented because it is an autoimmune disease. Even so, the WHO recommends starting to practice a healthy lifestyle to prevent type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. Some of these ways are:
- Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight
- Physically active, at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity most days
- Eat a healthy diet and avoid sugar and saturated fat
- Avoid tobacco use
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