Courtesy of Zhe Zhang
- What is diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a group of carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism disorders caused by the impossibility of absolute or relative insulin secretion accompanied by impaired insulin utilization, with hyperglycemia as the main hallmark. [18]
- What can happen to someone in the long run if diabetes isn’t treated?
Diabetes can lead to one or more of the following: cardiovascular problems, including heart failure, kidney failure, blindness, and death. [18]
- What symptoms do patients with diabetes experience?
Typical symptoms of diabetes mellitus are hyperglycemia-related “three more and one less” (drinking more, urinating more, eating more, and less weight) accompanied by skin infections, fatigue, vision changes, and other clinical manifestations, and many early-stage patients do not have any symptoms or mild symptoms. [18]
- What are the different types of diabetes?
T1D:
Rarely, it often develops in early childhood and young adulthood. Etiologically, it can be divided into immune-mediated and idiopathic (pathogenesis unknown). The pathogenesis is mainly the destruction of pancreatic beta cells, resulting in an absolute lack or significant reduction of insulin. [18]
T2D:
Commonly, causes include insulin resistance, progressive insulin underproduction, or both. Type 2 diabetes often starts after age 40; half of the patients do not have any symptoms in the early stage, often accompanied by obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and other diseases. [18]
Gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant):
Absence of diabetes before and during early pregnancy and first detection of hyperglycemia after 24 weeks of gestation. The etiology is mainly hyperglycemia due to increased insulin resistance and relative insulin secretion deficiency after pregnancy. [18]
Picture of Slideshow of Diabetes Statistics
References:
[5] “Diabetes Statistics,” DRIF. https://diabetesresearch.org/diabetes-statistics/#:~:text=Diabetes%20is%20increasing%20at%20an
[9] International Diabetes Federation, “IDF Diabetes Atlas 10th edition 2021,” diabetesatlas.org, 2021. https://diabetesatlas.org/
[18] Wang, C., & Wang, J. (2015). 内科学=medicine. People’s Medical Publishing House(PMPH), Beijing. (Print book) Chapter 2 Diabetes.