Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Diabetes

• Up-to-date information on the causes, symptoms, and advances in treatments for type 1 and type 2 diabetes

• Latest thinking on insulin and oral drugs, lifestyle changes, and ways to reduce the risks of long-term complications

Diabetes mellitus, also referred to simply as diabetes, is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Diabetes occurs when the body’s production of insulin is inadequate or its response to insulin is insufficient. Insulin is a hormone that controls the production of glucose by the liver and allows cells to remove glucose from the blood.

Since the late 1990s, the number of people with diabetes has increased considerably, rising from 5% of Americans to about 7%— 18 million people in all. About a third of them do not yet know they have diabetes. A large portion of those with diabetes -- some 9 million -- are 60 or older.

Most of these people have type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% to 95% of diabetes cases and which usually starts later in life. The onset of type 2 diabetes tends to be gradual, and blood glucose levels are more stable. Most people with type 2 diabetes are obese. Type 1 diabetes usually develops before age 30 and tends to come on suddenly.

Type 1 diabetes was once called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes; type 2 diabetes was known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes. These terms are no longer used because some people with type 2 diabetes eventually require treatment with insulin and there is a growing epidemic of type 2 disease in children.

This area of Johns Hopkins Health Alerts reviews the most up-to-date information on the causes, symptoms, and advances in treatments for both types of diabetes—including insulin and oral drugs, lifestyle changes, and ways to reduce the risks of long-term complications from diabetes.

Diabetes Articles:

• Type 1 Diabetes

• Type 2 Diabetes

• Diabetes Symptoms

• Diabetes Treatment

Diabetes-Related Topics:

• Blood Glucose

• Diabetes and Diet

• Diabetes and Exercise

• Diabetes and Foot Care

• Diabetic Retinopathy

• Insulin

• Living With Diabetes

• Metabolic Syndrome

• Preventing Diabetes

Johns Hopkins Symptoms and Remedies on Diabetes Diseases:

• Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Glossary

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