Diabetes affects more than 18 million people in the United States, and another five million people are unaware that they have the disease. Even if you don’t have diabetes, it’s almost certain that you have a family member or friend who has the disease.  Diabetes affects people from all age groups and all walks of life.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar levels are above normal. Most of the food we eat is turned into sugar (glucose) for our muscles to use for energy. Insulin is a hormone that helps the sugar move from the blood into the muscles. When you have diabetes, your body is either not making insulin or not using insulin properly, which results in too much sugar staying in the blood. Over time, these changes can lead to serious health complications-often affecting the heart, eyes and kidneys.

Types of diabetes

There are four main types of diabetes, listed here from the most common form to the least common:

• Type 2 was previously called non-insulin-dependent or adultonset. It begins as the body develops resistance and does not use insulin properly. Approximately 90 to 95 percent of Americans with diabetes, or around 17 million people, have   type 2.
• Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and is detected through special blood sugar tolerance testing. Women with gestational diabetes often have large babies weighing as much as 9 pounds or more. Unfortunately, between 20 and 50 percent of these women will also be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within five to 10 years after pregnancy.
• Type 1 is often called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes. It is typically diagnosed in children and young adults, but may occur at any age. In individuals with type 1, the body’s immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin.
• Other forms of diabetes result from specific genetic conditions, surgery, infections, malnutrition, drugs and other illnesses. These account for 1 to 5 percent of all cases.

Just recently, the American Diabetes Association also began to recognize pre-diabetes, which almost always comes before type 2 diabetes. People with pre-diabetes have blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. There are 41 million people in the U.S. who have prediabetes. Research has shown that if steps are taken to control blood sugar levels during pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes can be delayed or even prevented.

Are you at risk?

There are some risk factors for diabetes that we can control - namely, obesity and lack of exercise. Unfortunately, we can’t control many of the risk factors for diabetes. These include a family history of diabetes, being over age 45, a personal history of diabetes during pregnancy or giving birth to an infant weighing more than 9 pounds.

Know the signs and symptoms

Recent studies show that early detection and treatment can reduce the chance of developing the complications of diabetes. Too often diabetes goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem harmless or may be mistaken for other health problems. Often people go seven to 10 years without knowing they have diabetes.

Symptoms may include:

• Frequent urination
• Nausea and vomiting
• Excessive thirst and hunger
• Difficulty healing
• Dramatic weight loss
• Blurry vision
• Weakness and fatigue
• Tingling in the hands or feet

FirstHealth of the Carolinas offers a variety of services to assist patients of all ages with diabetes, including programs for children, women with diabetes during pregnancy and adults.