Diabetes: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Types. UNCOVER THE SWEET TRUTH. India is known as the Diabetic capital of the world, impacting approximately 100 million individuals across various age groups. Diabetes is a chronic condition when the pancreas can no longer make insulin.
In other words, your body can not effectively produce or use insulin. It may cause sugar to build up in the blood, putting you at risk, of dangerous complications.
WHAT IS DIABETES?
Diabetes is a chronic disease classified into two types: type 1 diabetes (T1D), which results from the immune system attacking insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, and type 2 diabetes (T2D), which occurs when the body does not respond to insulin properly.
DO YOU HAVE DIABETES?
Diabetes often remains unnoticed, developing silently until symptoms become severe. Early indicators of the condition include excessive thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision, slow wound healing, fatigue, and recurrent skin and vaginal yeast infections.
IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, IT IS NOT ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT
Although both diabetes types share genetic predispositions and environmental triggers, Type 2 diabetes has stronger ties to family history compared to type 1 diabetes, largely because families tend to have shared dietary and exercise habits.
T2D also shows anticipation where the age of diagnosis of the patients with a positive family history of diabetes was lower than the age of diagnosis of the family member and those with no family history of diabetes.
Approximately 80% of T1D cases do not have a family history, yet those with relatives who have the condition carry an increased risk.
More than 150 genetic factors are associated with T2D mostly related to insulin secretion and glucose metabolism (TCF7L2 and CAPN10 are the two most common genes found to be affected in T2D).
For T1D, The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, particularly HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DQA1, are the most common genes affected in type 1 diabetes.
HOW IS DIABETES DIAGNOSED?
Doctors diagnose diabetes by checking your glucose level in a blood test. These blood tests can be categorized into
- Fasting blood sugar test (FBS)
- Post prandial sugar test (PPBS)
- Random blood sugar test (RBS)
- Glucose tolerance test (GTT)
- HbA1c Test
BE CAREFUL
Neglecting to monitor blood sugar can lead to chronic high glucose levels, resulting in complications affecting various organs like eyes, kidneys, feet, blood vessels and nerves and increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
Effective diabetes management requires regular monitoring of blood sugar levels and other health indicators, such as cholesterol and blood pressure.
THERE IS HOPE
A person with diabetes continuously struggles with diet and medication, yet with adequate knowledge and understanding, managing diabetes can become second nature, allowing for a fulfilling and healthy life.
A NOTE FROM HEALINGCLAP
HealingClap Labs is the most trusted and fastest-growing pathology lab committed to providing accurate and reliable test results. We, at HealingClap Labs, provide a diabetic panel with 49 parameters at affordable prices. Book an appointment.
