CAUSES OF DIABETES

CAUSES

TYPE 1

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that's needed to control the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood.

The role of insulin

Once a significant number of islet cells are destroyed, you'll produce little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone that comes from the pancreas, a gland situated behind and below the stomach.

·         The pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream.

·         Insulin circulates, enabling sugar to enter your cells.

·         Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.

·         As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.

The role of glucose

Glucose — a sugar — is a main source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and other tissues.

·         Glucose comes from two major sources: food and your liver.

·         Sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, where it enters cells with the help of insulin.

·         Your liver stores glucose as glycogen.

·         When your glucose levels are low, such as when you haven't eaten in a while, the liver converts stored glycogen into glucose to keep your glucose level within a normal range.

In type 1 diabetes, there's no insulin to let glucose into the cells, so sugar builds up in your bloodstream, where it can cause life-threatening complications.

The cause of type 1 diabetes is different from the cause of themore familiar type 2 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, the islet cells are still functioning, but the body becomes resistant to insulin or the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin or both.

Type 2

Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of factors, including insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s muscle, fat, and liver cells do not use insulin effectively. This diabetes develops when the body can no longer produce enough insulin to compensate for the impaired ability to use insulin. 

• Genetic Susceptibility 
•   Obesity and Physical Inactivity
  
•   Sleep Habits
  
•   Insulin Resistance 
•  Abnormal Glucose Production by the Liver
  
•  Metabolic Syndrome
  
•   Beta Cell Dysfunction
  

Risk factors

• People who develop type 2 diabetes are more likely to have the following characteristics:
  ·         age 45 or older
  ·         overweight or obese
  ·         physically inactive
  ·         parent or sibling with diabetes
  ·         family background that is African American, Alaska Native, American Indian,
  Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, or Pacific Islander American
  ·         history of giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
  ·         history of gestational diabetes
  ·         high blood pressure—140/90 or above—or being treated for high blood pressure
  ·         high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good, cholesterol below 35 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or a triglyceride level above 250 mg/dL
  ·         polycystic ovary syndrome, also called PCOS
  ·         prediabetes
  ·         history of CVD