Diabetes is a chronic condition of people who have problems with the pancreatic production of insulin in the body. There is a variety of diseases that can be set in the diabetes category, two of which will be discussed further on. Generally, all diabetes patients experience complete, partial lack of insulin or insulin resistance. What does this mean? It means that the pancreas stops producing sufficient amounts of the hormone insulin, which serves to regulate the sugar circulation throughout the body.
Diabetes is not only a serious, but a lifelong disease too. This means that this particular condition can only be managed, but can never be treated completely. At this moment, over 29.1 million Americans suffer from this condition, while 86 million people are at the pre-diabetes stage, according to the American Diabetes Association
As soon as the body consumes glucose, the pancreas has the job of regulating these sugars with the hormone insulin. In diabetes patients, the pancreas does not make this hormone or the body's cells become resistant to it. When this happens, the sugar that circulates the blood is highly increased, which is referred to as high blood sugar.
The purpose of this research paper is to define the difference between the two most common types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
When the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the human body's immune system, type 1 diabetes occurs. In this case, the patient produces no insulin whatsoever. When this happens, the patients must inject insulin in their body all their lives to be able to control the blood sugar. The most common group of people who develops this condition are people aged under 20. Still, diabetes 1 can occur at any age.
Unlike type 1 diabetes patients, people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do produce insulin to control their sugar levels. However, the insulin amount can be insufficient for the body to control the sugar; or the cells may become resistant to the insulin. Insufficient insulin amounts can lead to a serious lack of glucose in the cells of the body. Patients manage this diabetes type with injections or pills or even solely by controlling their weight, exercising and watching their diet.
Another distinction can be made in the at-risk group of people. Diabetes 2 occurs in people who are over the age of 40 and usually, are overweight. This is why this type is commonly referred to as 'adult-onset diabetes'. Still, diabetes 2 can also occur at any age.
When we make a comparison based on number of patients, type 2 diabetes affects the majority of people who suffer from this condition. Almost 18 million Americans are diagnosed with this disease. Even though there is no cure for this disease, the majority of such cases can be managed or prevented if caught in pre-diabetes form. However, diabetes still remains the leading cause of health complications, including chronic kidney failure, blindness and non-traumatic amputations.
Symptoms of the two types of diabetes also vary. In cases of type 1 diabetes, patients experience sudden and severe symptoms. With type 2 diabetes, the symptoms develop gradually and are less severe.
Aside from the common symptoms of the two, which include increased thirst and hunger, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, dry mouth and heavy breathing; type 2 diabetes is characterized with a few other symptoms. These symptoms include: numbness and tingling in the extremities, erectile dysfunction, yeast infections, skin itching and slow healing cuts or sores.
As stated above, diabetes cannot be cured. However, patients can still control the symptoms and manage the blood sugar level in the body by taking care of their diet, using injections or medications, exercising regularly, controlling the blood pressure and the cholesterol levels.
ConclusionThis research paper points out to the main differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. According to the statistics in America, the second type of diabetes is much more common than the first one. Still, type 1 diabetes is often considered more serious because of the sudden and severe symptoms that come when the blood sugar levels are not regulated well. Regardless of the case, diabetes was and remains the most common chronic disease of people worldwide.