Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, can be broken down into two types: type 1 and type 2.
In healthy bodies, sugar (glucose) levels in the bloodstream are regulated by a hormone called insulin produced by the pancreas. When carbohydrate (starchy or sugary) food or drink is digested it is broken down eventually to glucose.
Insulin helps glucose from the bloodstream be absorbed into the cells where it is used as energy.
In type 1 diabetes, the body is unable to produce insulin so glucose stays in the bloodstream instead of being moved into the cells. Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented.3 This type of diabetes is the rarer of two, and makes up only around five to fifteen percent of all diabetes cases.4
Type 2 diabetes is much more common and occurs when the body produces insulin but not enough to function normally, or when the body is resistant to the insulin so it doesn’t work properly. Type 2 diabetes is preventable and is usually linked with people who are over forty years old and overweight.
In the UK, around 2.5 million people are diabetic of which around eighty-five to ninety-five percent have diabetes mellitus type 2. In addition, more than half a million people in the UK have diabetes but are not aware of it. 3 This typically happens because in many cases of type 2 diabetes, symptoms develop so gradually that sufferers become used to them. Symptoms may include being thirsty, tired, itchy skin or having blurred vision. In other cases, some type 2 diabetes sufferers may not develop any symptoms at all. 11
According to a recent study, more and more people are being affected by diabetes: in 2005, 4.3% of the U.K. population had diabetes, in comparison to only 2.8% in 1996. 8
Worldwide, diabetes affects around 246 million people, and this number is expected to increase to more than 380 million by 2025. 9 Currently, type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% to 95% of all cases. 10
The number of people with type 2 diabetes has been found to be correlated with the environment: people in lower socio-economic groups or experiencing lower standards of living are more likely to become diabetic, and people from minority ethnic communities are six times more likely to develop the disease.7
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Last Updated 29/04/2009 07:38:08
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