Diabetes’ Reach
Diabetes affects 29.1 million people in the U.S., a whopping 9.4% of our population. That number has doubled in the last 10 years. And each year, it costs Americans more than $245 billion.
Worldwide, it affects more than 380 million people. And the World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, that number of people living with it will more than double.
Diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart failure, and stroke.
What Is Diabetes?
When you eat food, your body turns it into sugar. Then, your body releases a chemical called insulin, which opens up your cells so they can take in that sugar and turn it into energy.
Diabetes is a group of diseases that breaks that system, causing there to be too much sugar in your blood, or high blood glucose.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is normally diagnosed in kids, and it’s the more serious kind. Its is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the cells that create insulin.
Without insulin, sugar builds up in the blood, starving your cells. This can cause eye, heart, nerve, and kidney damage, and in serious cases, can result in comas and death.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes, and it’s frequently called adult-onset diabetes because it’s usually diagnosed when you’re over 35.
People with this form of it produce some insulin, just not enough. And sometime, the insulin isn’t able to open the cells, which is called insulin resistance.
While many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or inactive, there is a new group of patients emerging—young, slim females. Molecular imaging expert Jimmy Bell, MD, calls this condition TOFI, thin outside, fat inside.
Instead of building up below the skin’s surface, fat gathers on their abdominal organs, which is more dangerous. Risk factors for these women include a lack of exercise, daily stress, and yo-yo dieting.
Gestational Diabetes
Some pregnant women who didn’t have diabetes before and won’t have it after develop a form called gestational diabetes.
Your high blood sugar can cause your baby to make too much insulin. When this happens, their cells can absorb too much sugar, which their bodies then store as fat. This can raise their risk of a difficult birth and breathing problems.
Symptoms
Early detection is key to preventing serious complications from diabetes.
These are some common symptoms:
- Peeing often
- Feeling very thirsty or hungry, even though you’re eating
- Extremely tired
- Blurry vision
- Cuts or bruises that are slow to heal
- Weight loss, even though you are eating more (for type 1)
- Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands or feet (for type 2)
There are often no symptoms for gestational diabetes, so it’s important to get tested at the right time.
Does any of this sound like you? Learn more about how your doctor can test and diagnose you. And learn more about the different treatments.
