Diabetes Overview and Type 1 Quiz

Study Notes

Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by insulin deficiency and glucose over-sufficiency.
Genetics, nutrition, environment, and lifestyle all contribute to diabetes risk.
Maintaining an optimal body weight through a balanced diet is crucial for reducing diabetes risk
Three main types of diabetes exist: Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes involves the immune system attacking insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Typically diagnosed before age 30.
Symptoms include: hunger, excessive thirst and urination, and rapid weight loss.
Insulin injection is the only treatment to prevent life-threatening complications.
Untreated Type 1 diabetes can lead to ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition with symptoms of vomiting, dehydration, rapid breathing, confusion, and eventually coma and death.
Insulin injections prevent death but do not cure the disease.
Type 1 diabetics require a strict diet low in rapidly-digested carbohydrates (high-GI foods), regular carbohydrate counting, and frequent small meals.
Regular exercise helps manage blood glucose levels.
Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10% of diabetes cases.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin insufficiency, but it is also caused by resistance in muscle, liver, and fat cells to insulin.
Onset of symptoms is more gradual than Type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetics initially produce more insulin to compensate for resistance.
As the disease progresses, insulin-producing cells become exhausted and die, leading to a requirement for insulin injections.
Lifestyle interventions, including a healthy diet and increased physical activity, are the first-line treatment.
Genetics, environment, nutrition, and lifestyle all contribute to Type 2 diabetes risk.
The Diabetes Prevention Trial demonstrated that intensive lifestyle interventions reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58%.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of diabetes cases.

Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy due to hormonal changes affecting insulin sensitivity.
Risks include pregnancy complications.
It typically resolves after pregnancy but increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later.
Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the child.

Prediabetes is a condition with moderately high glucose levels, but not meeting diagnostic criteria for diabetes.
Individuals with prediabetes are at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In 2013-2014, approximately 3 million Canadians (8.1% of the population) were diagnosed with diabetes.
Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness, lower-limb amputations, and kidney failure.
Diabetics are at a 2-4 fold increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Many experience peripheral neuropathy, characterized by muscle weakness, loss of feeling, and pain in the lower extremities.
Recent evidence suggests an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in diabetics.

Maintaining blood glucose levels within the target range (70-130 mg/dL before meals) is crucial.
Monitoring blood glucose levels using a meter, strict adherence to a healthy diet, and increased physical activity are key.
Type 1 diabetics begin insulin injections immediately upon diagnosis.
Type 2 diabetics may require oral medications and insulin injections to manage blood glucose levels.
High blood glucose (hyperglycemia) symptoms include increased thirst and frequent urination.
Low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) is more common in Type 1 diabetics.
Hypoglycemia symptoms include shakiness, sweating, nausea, hunger, fatigue, confusion, irritability, stupor, seizures, and coma.
Hypoglycemia is treated rapidly by consuming fast-releasing carbohydrates.
Reactive hypoglycemia, a condition of sensitivity to sugars, refined starches, and high-GI foods, can lead to hypoglycemia symptoms.

Weight loss, even as little as 9 pounds (4 kilograms), can improve blood glucose levels in Type 2 diabetics.
The Diabetes Prevention Trial demonstrated that a diet of 1,200-1,800 kilocalories per day with less than 25% dietary fat and at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week led to 7% weight loss and significantly reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Metabolic syndrome involves three or more risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Characteristics include central obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL, elevated blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose levels.
Prevalence is estimated at 20-25% of adults worldwide.
Individuals with metabolic syndrome have a 9-30 times greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to those without the syndrome.