Diabetes is a long-term (chronic) condition caused by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. It is also sometimes known as diabetes mellitus.
Diabetes affects two million people in England and Wales. It is also thought that there are a further 750,000 people who have the condition but are unaware of it.
How does diabetes occur?
Normally, the amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas (a gland that is located behind the stomach). When food is digested and enters the bloodstream, insulin helps to move any glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy.
However, in diabetes, because there is either not enough insulin, or because there is a poor response (resistance) to insulin, the body is unable to fully use the glucose in the blood stream.
There are two types of diabetes: diabetes type 1 and diabetes type 2. This article focuses on type 2 diabetes. See Useful links for information about type 1 diabetes.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes occurs when not enough insulin is produced by the body for it to function properly, or when the body’s cells do not react to insulin. This is called insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the body does not produce any insulin at all. Around 95% of all people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be able to control your symptoms simply by eating a healthy diet, and monitoring your blood glucose level. However, as type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, you may eventually need to take insulin medication, usually in the form of injections.
Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity. Obesity-related diabetes is sometimes referred to as maturity onset diabetes because it is more common in older people.
Gestational diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy)
During pregnancy, some women have such high levels of glucose in their blood that their body cannot produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as gestational diabetes, and affects approximately 2-7% of pregnant women.
Pregnancy can also sometimes make existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes more difficult to control. If you are pregnant, you may require additional time and effort to manage your diabetes during your pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of health problems developing in an unborn baby, so it is important that you keep the glucose levels in your blood under control.
In most cases, gestational diabetes disappears after the baby is born. However, women with the condition have an estimated 30% risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on in life.
