The main types of diabetes mellitus are type 1 and type 2, which have certain differences, for example in relation to their cause, and may be autoimmune, as in the case of type 1, or associated with genetics and lifestyle habits, as is the case in type 2.
These types of diabetes may also vary by treatment, which can be done with medication use in tablets or with insulin application.
- However.
- There are still other variants of these types of diabetes.
- Which are gestational diabetes.
- Which occurs in pregnant women due to hormonal changes in this period.
- Latent adult autoimmune diabetes.
- Or LADA.
- And early-maturity diabetes in young people.
- Or MODY.
- Which mixes the characteristics of tpo 1 and 2 diabetes.
Therefore, to better understand the difference between types of diabetes, it is important to know how each disease develops:
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly attacks cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, destroying them; for example, lack of insulin production causes glucose to build up in the blood, which can affect several organs, such as the kidney.insufficiency, retinopathy or diabetic ketoacidosis.
Initially, this disease may not cause symptoms, however, in some cases it may occur:
This type of diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, as that is when this change of immunity occurs.
Treatment for type 1 diabetes is usually done with daily insulin injections, as well as a low-sugar, low-carb diet.Find out what your diet should be and what you should and shouldn’t eat if you’re diabetic.
It is also important for patients to maintain regular physical activity, under the guidance of an educator, to help control sugar levels and maintain regulated metabolism.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes.It is caused by genetic factors associated with bad lifestyle habits, such as excessive consumption of sugar, fats, physical inactivity, overweight or obesity, which cause abnormalities in the production and action of insulin in the body.
Generally, this type of diabetes is detected in people over 40 years of age because it develops over time and, in the early stages, does not cause symptoms, causing silent damage to the body; However, in severe and untreated cases, it can cause the following symptoms:
Before the onset of diabetes, the person usually has a period of hyperglycemia for several months or years, the so-called prediabetes, at this stage it is still possible to prevent the development of the disease, through physical activities and diet control.. Understand how to identify and treat prediabetes to prevent the development of the disease.
Type 2 diabetes is treated with blood glucose control medications such as metformin, glibenclamide or gliclazide, for example, prescribed by your family doctor or endocrinologist; However, depending on the patient’s health or worsening blood sugar levels, daily insulin use may be necessary.
In addition to drug treatment, a controlled diet of sugars and other carbohydrates as well as fats, in addition to regular exercise, should be maintained, measures that are essential for the correct control of the disease and for aging with a better quality of life.more about treatment and the consequences of type 2 diabetes.
The table summarizes the main differences between these two types of diabetes:
The most common are dry mouth, excessive urination, hunger and weight loss.
The most common are weight loss, excessive urination, fatigue, weakness, scarring and blurred vision.
Diagnosis of diabetes should be made with blood tests that identify excess glucose in circulation, such as fasting glucose, glycae haemoglobin, glucose tolerance test, and capillary glucose test.See how these tests are done and the values that confirm diabetes.
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and can be diagnosed during blood glucose tests after 22 weeks gestation, and is also caused by dysfunction of insulin production and action in the body.
This usually occurs in women who already have a genetic predisposition or who have unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as eating with excess fats and sugars.
Symptoms of gestational diabetes are similar to those of type 2 diabetes and treatment is done with a proper diet and exercise to control diabetes, as it tends to disappear after the baby is born, however, in most cases insulin is necessary.for proper glycaemic control.
Learn more about the symptoms of gestational diabetes, its risks, and how to treat it.
There are also other ways to develop diabetes, which are rarer and can be triggered for different reasons.Some of them are:
There is also a condition called diabetes insipid that, although it has a similar name, is not diabetes, being a disease related to changes in the hormones that produce urine. If you want to learn more about this disease, learn how to identify and treat diabetes.