Type 2 diabetes

Description

Diabetes is a disease characterized by abnormally high levels of glucose in your blood. Type-II diabetes is a type of diabetes when the cells become insulin resistant (doesn’t use insulin to take up glucose), leading to an increase in blood glucose levels. At later stages, the body starts producing less insulin. It is the most common form of diabetes.

Causes

Diabetes is a very common disease with several causes, some of them are:

Family history of diabetes: You’re at a higher risk of getting diabetes if your parents or siblings have it. Diabetes may pass into the genetics of a person, contributing to its commonness.

Obesity: Increased weight of a person especially fat on the stomach area results in decreased sensitivity of cells to insulin. Insulin helps the absorption of glucose therefore decreased sensitivity to Insulin causes accumulation of glucose in the blood.

Decreased Insulin production: Beta cells produces a hormone called Insulin. It regulates the levels of glucose in the blood. At the later stages of Diabetes type-II, there is decreased production of Insulin, resulting in increased glucose in the blood.

Cell signaling: Normally, cells coordinate with each other to maintain normal glucose levels. A problem in cell signaling can lead to high glucose levels.

Risk factors

Certain factors may increase the risk of developing diabetes, but do not actually cause it. The following are Risk Factors that cannot be changed:

Familial tendency: Diabetes tends to run in the family. You are at risk if your siblings or parents are diabetic.

Age: Risk of diabetes increases with age, especially after 45.

Race: People of African-American, Hispanic, Native American, and Alaska Native ethnicities are at a greater risk of developing diabetes.

Some Risk Factors that can be changed include:

Smoking
Lack of exercise: Exercising can reduce your risk greatly, even if it is just brisk walking for half an hour every day.
Unhealthy diet: Foods rich in sugar, carbohydrates, and fat should be avoided. It is best to reduce consumption of red meat.
Obesity
Stress, and sleep disturbances.

Some medical conditions may also contribute to development of diabetes, and should be evaluated by your physician. These include:

Hypertension
Heart disease.
Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease
High cholesterol or triglycerides
Low levels of good cholesterol,
Pre-diabetes
Diabetes during pregnancy
Stress or Depression
Acanthosis Nigricans (skin condition)

Symptoms

It is possible that diabetes is present but there are no signs or symptoms yet. It is important to get screened if you are at risk, especially if diabetes runs in the family. However, some common signs include:

Increased thirst
Increased urination
Weight loss
Blurred vision
Fatigue
Increased hunger
Delayed wound healing
Dark patches on skin and armpits.

Diabetes also has long term damaging effects. If not managed effectively, diabetes can eventually lead to diseases of the eye, kidneys, heart, nerves and blood vessels. It may cause complications with pregnancy and can interfere greatly with the healing of any wound.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will ask you for your complete medical history and examine you for any signs of diabetes. If the doctor finds any signs or symptoms he/she may run a few lab tests. Some of the tests are:

Random blood sugar: RBS or random blood sugar is a blood test performed to measure the glucose levels at any time of the day.

Fasting blood sugar: FBS or Fasting blood sugar is a blood test performed to evaluate the blood glucose level after fasting for 8-12 hours or overnight.

HbA1c (Glycated haemoglobin): This test shows the average blood glucose for the past couple of months.

OGTT (Oral glucose tolerance test): This test requires the patient to drink a sweet drink for measuring the blood glucose levels periodically for two hours.

Management

The goal of management is to control your blood glucose levels, management includes:

Lifestyle modification: The patient should follow a strict diet, and exercise regularly. Losing weight can be beneficial.
Medicines: Metformin is the drug of choice, other drugs include: insulin, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinedione, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, and glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs.

When to consult a doctor?

Consult your doctor if the medicines prescribed are not improving your condition or worsening it. Report any signs and symptoms of heart problems, vision problems, and stroke.