There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). More than 133 million Americans are living with diabetes (37.3 million) or prediabetes (96 million). What is Diabetes? Learn about the 3 main types of diabetes.
What are the 4 major types of diabetes?
4 types of diabetes – There are four main types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and a condition known as prediabetes, in which you have higher-than-normal blood glucose levels but not quite high enough (yet) to qualify as Type 2 diabetes.
With all four, prompt diagnosis is critical—and so is compliance with your diabetes treatment. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels and raise your risk of developing certain health problems (some life-threatening), so it’s important to begin treatment—and stick with it faithfully—as soon as you get diagnosed.
But don’t despair. Regardless of what form of diabetes you might have, you can live a very full, healthy life. Adopting and embracing positive behavioral changes can not only lead to effective diabetes management, but it will also help you live a healthier life overall, says Lucille Hughes, DNP, the director of diabetes education for Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York.
| Compare common types of diabetes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prevalence | Definition | Risk factors | Treatment | |
| Type 1 diabetes | 5%-10% of 34.2 million Americans who have diabetes | Pancreas does not make any insulin or not enough insulin to move sugar out of bloodstream and into cells |
Having a close relative with Type 1 diabetes |
Insulin therapy |
| Type 2 diabetes | 90%-95% of 34.2 million | Having high blood sugar levels that average out to be 6.5% or greater as measured by an A1C test or fasting blood glucose level 126 or greater |
Being overweight or having obesity Leading a sedentary lifestyle Being over 45 years of age Having a family history of Type 2 diabetes Having a history of smoking Being in certain racial/ethnic groups Having PCOS Having high cholesterol Having high blood pressure |
Lifestyle changes to improve diet and increase exercise Weight loss Insulin therapy Metformin or other medications |
| Prediabetes | 88 million | Having elevated blood sugar levels (A1c between 5.7% and 6.4% or fasting blood glucose level 100-125) that are higher than normal but not quite high enough to be Type 2 diabetes | Same as Type 2 diabetes | Positive lifestyle changes to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight, such as increased physical activity |
| Gestational diabetes | 5%-10% of pregnancies each year | Elevated blood sugar levels during pregnancy |
Having a family history of prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes Being 25 or older Being overweight before pregnancy Being certain racial/ethnic groups |
Insulin may be necessary for some Healthy diet and exercise |
What is diabetes: type 1 and 2?
Type 1 vs. Type 2 diabetes: What’s the difference? – Type 2 diabetes is not the same as Type 1 diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t make any insulin. In Type 2, your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, and the insulin it is making doesn’t always work as it should.
Are most diabetics type 1 or 2?
Healthy eating is your recipe for managing diabetes. More than 37 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10), and approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45, but more and more children, teens, and young adults are also developing it.
Which diabetes is most serious?
Treatments for diabetes – If you have either type of diabetes, your treatment will involve maintaining your blood sugar level at a safe level. How you go about that will depend on the type you have. Treating type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition and is managed with a combination of insulin medication and lifestyle choices.
- People with type 1 diabetes supplement their insulin levels with injections or an insulin pump,
- Additionally, it is recommended that people with this condition maintain a healthy body weight, eat a balanced diet, exercise often, and check their blood sugar levels as prescribed.
- Treating type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes is also managed through a combination of medication and lifestyle choices.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you’ll need to check your blood sugar levels to ensure that they are in a safe zone. Your doctor might prescribe medication to help keep your levels where they should be. Experts also recommend eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting plenty of exercise,
- Possible complications and side effects Type 1 and type 2 diabetes can have very serious side effects if they are not diagnosed or managed well.
- One is not better or worse than the other.
- Both conditions require careful and mindful management.
- If your cells do not get the sugar they need to function, they will begin to die.
Blood sugar that is too high or too low is dangerous, especially to your brain. It is essential to manage your insulin and sugar levels to avoid loss of consciousness, organ damage, and other serious complications. 
What is type 2 diabetes now called?
Type 2 diabetes – Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent, or adult-onset) results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin. More than 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity.
Is diabetes type 2 serious?
Is type 2 diabetes serious? – Around 90% of people with diabetes in the UK have type 2. It is serious condition and can be lifelong. Having type 2 diabetes without treatment means that high sugar levels in your blood can seriously damage parts of your body, including your eyes, heart and feet.
What is the most common type diabetes?
Type 2 Diabetes – With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
Losing weight. Eating healthy food. Being active.
What is No 1 diabetes?
People of all ages can develop type 1 diabetes. If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t make insulin or makes very little insulin. Insulin helps blood sugar enter the cells in your body for use as energy. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells and builds up in the bloodstream.
- High blood sugar is damaging to the body and causes many of the symptoms and complications of diabetes.
- Type 1 diabetes was once called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes.
- It usually develops in children, teens, and young adults, but it can happen at any age.
- Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 —about 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1.
Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes, but it can be treated successfully by:
Following your doctor’s recommendations for living a healthy lifestyle. Managing your blood sugar. Getting regular health checkups. Getting diabetes self-management education and support,
If your child has type 1 diabetes—especially a young child—you’ll handle diabetes care on a day-to-day basis. Daily care will include serving healthy foods, giving insulin injections, and watching for and treating hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). You’ll also need to stay in close contact with your child’s health care team.
Which diabetes needs insulin?
Goals of insulin therapy – If you have type 1 diabetes, insulin therapy is vital for replacing the insulin your body doesn’t produce. Sometimes, people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes need insulin therapy if other treatments haven’t been able to keep blood glucose levels within the desired range.
Which type of diabetes requires insulin?
Type 1 diabetes – develops when the cells of the pancreas stop producing insulin. Without insulin, glucose cannot enter the cells of the muscles for energy. Instead the glucose rises in the blood causing a person to become extremely unwell. Type 1 diabetes is life-threatening if insulin is not replaced.
People with type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin for the rest of their lives. Type 1 diabetes often occurs in children and people under 30 years of age, but it can occur at any age. This condition is not caused by lifestyle factors. Its exact cause is not known but research shows that something in the environment can trigger it in a person that has a genetic risk.
The body’s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells of the pancreas after the person gets a virus because it sees the cells as foreign. Most people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes do not have family members with this condition. The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) has a fact sheet on,
Which diabetes is easiest to control?
Type 1 and type 2 differences – Below is a guide to some of the main differences between type 1 and type 2.
| Type 1 | Type 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| What is happening? | Your body attacks the cells in your pancreas which means it cannot make any insulin. | Your body is unable to make enough insulin or the insulin you do make doesn’t work properly. |
| Risk factors | We don’t currently know what causes type 1 diabetes. | We know some things can put you at risk of having type 2 like weight and ethnicity. |
| Symptoms | The symptoms for type 1 appear more quickly. | Type 2 symptoms can be easier to miss because they appear more slowly. |
| Management | Type 1 is managed by taking insulin to control your blood sugar. | You can manage type 2 diabetes in more ways than type 1. These include through medication, exercise and diet. People with type 2 can also be prescribed insulin. |
| Cure and Prevention | Currently there is no cure for type 1 but research continues. | Type 2 cannot be cured but there is evidence to say in many cases it can be prevented and put into remission. |
How long can a diabetic patient live?
Life expectancy can be increased by 3 years or in some cases as much as 10 years. At age 50, life expectancy- the number of years a person is expected to live- is 6 years shorter for people with type 2 diabetes than for people without it. People with type 2 diabetes can reduce their risk of complications and live longer by achieving their treatment goals.
Is diabetes type 2 lifetime?
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong (chronic) disease in which there is a high level of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
Can type 2 diabetic become a type 2?
One persistent myth about diabetes is that people with type 2 diabetes can develop type 1 diabetes when they take insulin, but this is not true. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have many features in common, including problems with glucose control. However, the two conditions are distinct, and one does not transform into the other over time.
How type 2 diabetes is caused?
Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity – You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight or have obesity, Extra weight sometimes causes insulin resistance and is common in people with type 2 diabetes.
What are the 3 stages of diabetes?
Abstract – Insights from prospective, longitudinal studies of individuals at risk for developing type 1 diabetes have demonstrated that the disease is a continuum that progresses sequentially at variable but predictable rates through distinct identifiable stages prior to the onset of symptoms.
What is a normal blood sugar level?
Tests for type 1 and type 2 diabetes and prediabetes –
Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test. This blood test, which doesn’t require not eating for a period of time (fasting), shows your average blood sugar level for the past 2 to 3 months. It measures the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The higher your blood sugar levels, the more hemoglobin you’ll have with sugar attached. An A1C level of 6.5% or higher on two separate tests means that you have diabetes. An A1C between 5.7% and 6.4% means that you have prediabetes. Below 5.7% is considered normal. Random blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken at a random time. No matter when you last ate, a blood sugar level of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) — 11.1 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) — or higher suggests diabetes. Fasting blood sugar test. A blood sample will be taken after you haven’t eaten anything the night before (fast). A fasting blood sugar level less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is normal. A fasting blood sugar level from 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) is considered prediabetes. If it’s 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests, you have diabetes. Oral glucose tolerance test. For this test, you fast overnight. Then, the fasting blood sugar level is measured. Then you drink a sugary liquid, and blood sugar levels are tested regularly for the next two hours. A blood sugar level less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) is normal. A reading of more than 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) after two hours means you have diabetes. A reading between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L and 11.0 mmol/L) means you have prediabetes.
If your provider thinks you may have type 1 diabetes, they may test your urine to look for the presence of ketones. Ketones are a byproduct produced when muscle and fat are used for energy. Your provider will also probably run a test to see if you have the destructive immune system cells associated with type 1 diabetes called autoantibodies.
Can Type 4 diabetes be cured?
What lifestyle changes can help me manage my diabetes? – Even though there’s no diabetes cure, diabetes can be treated and controlled, and some people may go into remission. To manage diabetes effectively, you need to do the following: Manage your blood sugar levels,
Know what to do to help keep them as near to normal as possible every day: Check your glucose levels frequently. Take your diabetes medicine regularly. And balance your food intake with medication, exercise, stress management, and good sleep habits. Plan what you eat at each meal. Stick to your diabetes eating plan as often as possible.
Bring healthy snacks with you. You’ll be less likely to snack on empty calories. Exercise regularly. Exercise helps you keep you fit, burns calories, and helps normalize your blood glucose levels. Keep up with your medical appointments. That includes your doctor, diabetes educator, ophthalmologist, dentist, podiatrist, and other health care professionals.
- Weight Loss Surgery After weight loss surgery, many people with type 2 diabetes see their blood sugar levels return to near normal.
- Some experts call this a remission.
- It’s not unusual for people to no longer need diabetes medicines after weight loss surgery,
- The more weight a person loses after surgery, the greater improvement in blood sugar control.
After surgery, if extra weight returns, your diabetes can return too. Reaching and keeping a healthy weight are very important for managing diabetes. You should also follow your recommended diabetes diet, exercise regularly, manage your stress, and see your doctor regularly for necessary checkups.