Many people neatly divide the two main types of diabetes — type 1 and type 2 — into childhood and adult conditions, respectively.
In reality, this oversimplification doesn’t paint the correct picture when it comes to the millions of Americans who have diabetes. Not by a long shot. For starters, more than half of type 1 diabetes cases are diagnosed in adults.
Dr. Sean P. Nikravan is a leading endocrinologist, and you’ve come to the right place to get more information about diabetes. Here, we dive into type 1 diabetes and why it’s a disease of any age.
Of the more than 38 million Americans with diabetes, only 2 million of this number have type 1 diabetes.
With type 1 diabetes, your body has an autoimmune response that affects the ability of your pancreas to produce insulin. More specifically, your immune system attacks and destroys beta cells in your pancreas.
This is problematic because insulin is a hormone that transfers the glucose (blood sugar) from your bloodstream to your cells. Without insulin, the glucose remains in your bloodstream, which can lead to hyperglycemia and cardiovascular damage.
Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, develops over time and is caused by insulin resistance in your body and the inability of your pancreas to produce enough insulin to overcome the resistance.
For a video explanation by Dr. Nikravan about the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, click here.
The reason why type 1 diabetes is often associated with childhood is because, as one study describes it, “Clinically, it has been relatively easy to distinguish the acute, potentially lethal, childhood-onset diabetes from the less aggressive condition that affects adults.”
Type 1 diabetes that presents in childhood can be hard to miss, while the same can’t be said of adulthood type 1 diabetes, which is more subtle and often mistaken for type 2 diabetes.
Given that more than half of people with type 1 diabetes develop the condition in adulthood and that type 2 diabetes often shows up in adulthood, the lines between the two can get blurred.
This is why it’s important to seek the specialized help of an endocrinologist like Dr. Nikravan. Treating the two different types of diabetes can be quite different, and you want to make sure that you’re on the right path.
From insulin therapy to lifestyle changes, there are many ways in which we can address diabetes, but knowing which type dictates the details of these management tools.
To make sure that you're getting the right help for the right disease, we urge you to see Dr. Nikravan for all of your diabetes needs. Right from the start, he can properly diagnose the issue and ensure you have the tools and resources you need for healthy living.
For expert care of diabetes, whether it’s type 1 or type 2, please contact Sean P. Nikravan, MD, in Newport Beach, California, today, to set up your appointment.
