The Diabetes Management Center at Alton Memorial Hospital provides prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management services to patients that think they have or have diabetes. Below is an overview for the various types of diabetes.
The types of diabetes include type 1, type 2, prediabetes and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes:
Immune-mediated diabetes is the most common form of type 1 diabetes, and the one generally referred to as type 1 diabetes.
Two Forms of Type 1 Diabetes:
- Idiopathic type 1 diabetes. This refers to rare forms of the disease with no known cause.
- Immune-mediated diabetes. An autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system destroys, or attempts to destroy, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough insulin for the degree of insulin resistance (body's inability to properly use insulin). It used to be called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).
Without adequate production or utilization of insulin, the body cannot move blood sugar into the cells. It is a chronic disease that has no known cure. It is the most common type of diabetes.
Prediabetes:
Type 2 diabetes is commonly preceded by prediabetes. In prediabetes, blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be defined as diabetes. However, many people with prediabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, states the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Prediabetes also increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. With modest weight loss and moderate physical activity, people with prediabetes can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes:
Gestational diabetes is a condition in which the glucose level is elevated and other diabetic symptoms appear during pregnancy in a woman who has not previously been diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes disappears following delivery. All diabetic symptoms disappear following delivery.
Unlike type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes is not caused by an absolute lack of insulin, but rather by the effects of hormones released during pregnancy on the insulin that is produced, a condition referred to as insulin resistance.
For more information on the types of diabetes or to schedule an appointment, call us at 618.463.7526 or email us.