Diabetes: The Numbers - Slide 5

Common Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes

  • 5% to 10% of diagnosed cases of diabetes

• Type 2 diabetes

  • 90% to 95% of diagnosed cases of diabetes

Note:

• Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease that develops when the body’s immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells—the only cells in the body that make the hormone insulin that regulates blood glucose. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day either by injection or pump.

  • Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes and usually affects children and young adults, although the disease can occur at any age. There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes.

• Type 2 diabetes usually begins as insulin resistance—a disorder in which cells do not use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it. Insulin resistance and abnormal beta cell function may occur long before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed.

  • Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. It is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes and its complications. Although still rare, type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed more frequently in children and adolescents.

Reference

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National Diabetes Statistics, 2007. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, 2008.