The term diabetes mellitus includes a number of disorders in the process of carbohydrate metabolism, i.e. catabolism and anabolic metabolism.
Normal metabolism
The carbohydrates that the body obtains from eating bread, potatoes, rice, cakes, and many other foods gradually disintegrate and decompose. And the decomposition of this group of sugars is absorbed into the blood circulation.
The balance between the two hormones insulin and glucagon maintains the stability of the glucose level in the blood and avoids sharp changes. The cells responsible for the secretion of these hormones include the following:
1. Internal secretion cells
In the pancreas, there are cells called beta cells, which are very sensitive to an increase in the level of sugar in the blood, as they secrete the hormone insulin.
Insulin is a basic bridge for the entry of sugar and glucose molecules into the muscles, where it is used as an energy source, and into the tissues of fat and liver where it is stored. Glucose also reaches the brain, but without the help of insulin.
2. Alpha cells
It is also present in the pancreas and secretes another additional hormone called glucagon. This hormone causes sugar to be excreted from the liver and activates the action of other hormones that impede the action of insulin.
People with a healthy weight who increase physical activity need a small amount of insulin to balance the action of glucose reaching the blood, and the more obese and less physically fit the person is, the more insulin he needs to process a similar amount of glucose in the blood, this condition is called insulin resistance ( insulin resistance).
Diabetes injury
When the beta cells in the pancreas become damaged, the amount of insulin secreted gradually decreases, and this process continues for many years.
If this condition is accompanied by insulin resistance, this combination of a small amount of insulin and its low level of effectiveness leads to a deviation from the proper level of glucose, that is, sugar in the blood, and in this case the person is defined as having diabetes.
After fasting eight hours, the result of the analysis may indicate the following:
- It is known that the normal level should be less than 108 mg/dL.
- The borderline level is 126 mg/dL.
- The incidence level is 126 mg/dL or higher, on two or more examinations
Symptoms of diabetes
Symptoms of diabetes vary depending on the type of diabetes, as sometimes people with prediabetes or gestational diabetes may not feel any symptoms at all. Or they may experience some of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, or all of the symptoms together. Symptoms of diabetes include:
- thirst.
- Urinating a lot and often.
- Very hungry.
- Weight loss for unclear and unknown reasons.
- Tired.
- Blurred vision.
- Heal and heal wounds slowly.
- Frequent infections of: gums, skin, vagina or urinary bladder.
Causes and risk factors for diabetes
The following is an explanation of the most prominent causes and risk factors:
1. The main causes and risk factors for diabetes
Among the main reasons for this sharp rise in diabetes are the following:
- Obesity.
- lack of physical activity
- Changes in the types of foods. Common foods today include ready-made foods that cause diabetes, as they are rich in fats and sugars that are easily absorbed into the blood, which leads to increased insulin resistance.
2. Causes and risk factors for type 1 diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and damages the cells responsible for insulin secretion in the pancreas, instead of attacking and destroying harmful germs or viruses as it usually does in normal cases.
As a result, the body remains with little or no insulin, in which case sugar collects and accumulates in the circulatory system instead of being distributed to the different cells in the body. It is not yet known the real eye cause of type 1 diabetes, but the following are the most prominent risk factors, which include the following:
- Family history. The risk of developing type 1 diabetes is increased in people who have a parent or sibling who has diabetes.
- Exposure to viral diseases.
3. Causes and risk factors for type 2 diabetes
In prediabetes, which may worsen and turn into type 2 diabetes, cells resist the action of insulin, while the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to overcome this resistance. In these cases, sugar collects and accumulates in the blood circulation instead of distributing to cells and reaching them in the various organs of the body.
The direct cause of these cases is still unknown, but it seems that excess fat, especially in the abdomen, and lack of physical activity are important factors in this. Researchers are still looking for a real and accurate answer to the following question: Why do onset diabetes and type 2 diabetes affect certain people and not others?
However, there are several factors that clearly increase the risk of developing diabetes, including:
- Age: an age greater than or equal to 45 years.
- Weight: Overweight is defined as a BMI greater than or equal to 25.
- Inheritance: a first-degree relative with diabetes.
- Race: Certain ethnic groups are known to have a higher risk of developing diabetes.
- Physical activity: lack of physical activity.
- High blood pressure: it is higher than 140/90 mm Hg.
- Hypercholesterolemia: What is meant here is high harmful cholesterol.
- High level of triglycerides in the blood: It is one of the types of fatty acids found in the body.
- Vascular diseases: where there is a personal history of these diseases.
- Giving birth to a heavy baby: a personal history of women who gave birth to babies weighing more than 4.1 kilograms.
- Gestational diabetes: a personal history of gestational diabetes.
- Glucosylated hemoglobin values: The glucose hemoglobin test is greater or equal to 5.7%.
- Glucose tolerance: People who have a deficiency or poor glucose tolerance are more likely to develop the disease.
- Glucose values: Those who have a problem with glucose values in the post-fasting test.
4. Causes and risk factors for gestational diabetes
During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones that help and support pregnancy. These hormones make cells more resistant to insulin. In the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the placenta grows and produces large amounts of these hormones, which hinder insulin action and make it more difficult.
In normal normal conditions, the pancreas responds to this by producing an additional amount of insulin to overcome this resistance, but sometimes the pancreas cannot keep up, which leads to very little glucose reaching the cells, while a large amount of it collects and accumulates in the circulation This is how gestational diabetes develops.
Any pregnant woman may develop gestational diabetes, but there are women who are more susceptible than others. The risk factors for developing diabetes during pregnancy include:
- Women over the age of 25.
- Family or personal history.
- Overweight.
Complications of diabetes
The most prominent complications include the following:
1. General complications
Diabetes may lead to:
- Gradual rise in blood pressure.
- Characteristic disorders of blood lipids, especially high triglycerides.
- Good low cholesterol protein.
- Characteristic damage: in the kidneys, in the retina of the eyes (Retina), and in the nervous system.
- But complications from diabetes vary depending on the type of diabetes.
2. Complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Short-term complications from type 1 and type 2 diabetes require immediate treatment. Such conditions that are not treated promptly may lead to:
- convulsions
- coma.
- An elevated level of ketones in the urine.
- Sudden drop in blood sugar
- Sudden rise in blood sugar.
3. Long-term complications of diabetes
As for the long-term complications resulting from diabetes, they appear gradually, as the risk of complications increases the younger the incidence of diabetes and in people who are not keen on balancing the level of sugar in the blood, and complications of diabetes may eventually lead to disabilities or even death. They include the following:
- cardiovascular disease.
- Nerve damage.
- Damage to the kidneys.
- Damage to the eyes.
- Damage to the feet.
- Diseases of the skin and mouth.
- Bone and joint problems.
4. Complications of gestational diabetes
The majority of women who develop gestational diabetes give birth to healthy babies. However, if the diabetes in the blood of a pregnant woman is not balanced and is not monitored and treated properly, it may cause harm to the mother and the newborn together. The most prominent complications include the following:
- Complications that may occur in the newborn due to gestational diabetes
The most prominent complications include the following:
- overgrowth
- Hypoglycemia.
- Respiratory distress syndrome.
- jaundice
- Type 2 diabetes at an advanced age.
- death.
- Complications that may occur in the mother due to gestational diabetes
- Pre-eclampsia.
- Gestational diabetes in the next pregnancy as well.
5. Complications of the onset of diabetes
Early onset diabetes may progress to type 2 diabetes.
Diagnosis of diabetes
Diagnostic methods include the following:
1. Blood tests
There are many blood tests by which symptoms of type 1 diabetes or symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be diagnosed, including:
- Random blood sugar check.
- Checking the level of sugar in the blood during fasting.
If a person is diagnosed with symptoms of diabetes according to the results of the tests, it is likely that the doctor will decide to perform additional tests in order to determine the type of diabetes, with the aim of choosing the appropriate and effective treatment, given that treatment methods differ from one type of diabetes to another.
The doctor may also recommend a Hemoglobin A1C/ Glycosylated hemoglobin test.
2. Tests to detect gestational diabetes
Tests for gestational diabetes are an integral part of the regular and routine check-ups during pregnancy. Most medical professionals recommend a blood test for diabetes called a glucose challenge test, which is performed during pregnancy between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy, or earlier in women at high risk of gestational diabetes.
The glucose challenge test begins with drinking a sugar syrup solution, and an hour after that, a blood test is performed to measure the level of glucose concentration in the blood. If the blood sugar is higher than 140 mg / dL, this usually indicates the presence of gestational diabetes.
In most cases, there is a need to repeat the test in order to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes. In preparation for the re-examination, the pregnant woman who undergoes the examination must fast the night before the examination. Here again, a sweet-tasting solution is drunk that this time contains a higher concentration of glucose, and then the level of diabetes is measured. into the blood every hour for three hours.
3. Tests to detect the onset of diabetes
The American College of Endocrinology typically recommends screening for prediabetes for anyone with a family history of type 2 diabetes, who are obese, or who have metabolic syndrome.
It is also recommended that women who have had gestational diabetes in the past also undergo this examination, and the doctor may recommend one of the following two examinations to diagnose prediabetes:
- Examination of blood sugar during fasting.
- Glucose tolerance test.
Diabetes prevention
Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, but a healthy lifestyle that contributes to the treatment of pre-diabetes stage and symptoms, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes can also contribute to its prevention and prevention. The most prominent methods of prevention include:
- Ensure a healthy diet.
- Increased physical activity.
- Getting rid of excess weight.
Medications can sometimes be used, as oral diabetes medications, such as Metformin and Rosiglitazone, can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle remains very important.
Common types
Types of diabetes
The types of diabetes are as follows:
1. Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the immune system destroys beta cells in the pancreas for unknown reasons that have not yet been identified. In children, this destruction process takes place quickly and lasts from a few weeks to a few years, while in adults it may last for many years.
Type 1 diabetes may affect a person at any stage of life, but it often appears in childhood or adolescence. Many people who develop type 1 diabetes at an advanced age are mistakenly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
2. Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed and destroyed for genetic reasons most likely supported by external factors. This process is very slow and lasts for decades.
The risk of diabetes is small for someone of a healthy weight and good physical condition, even if they have low insulin secretion. As for the possibility of an obese person who does not engage in physical activity with diabetes, it is a high possibility, given that he is more likely to develop insulin resistance and thus diabetes.
It can appear at any age, as statistics indicate that the number of people with type 2 diabetes in the world has increased greatly in recent decades, reaching about 150 million people, and it is expected that it will rise to 330 million people with diabetes until the year 2025, but Fortunately, it is often preventable and avoidable.
