Type 2 Diabetes: Causes, Risk Factors and Management

At a glance

• About 1 in 8 Americans — more than 40 million people — has diabetes, and 90% to 95% of them have type 2.
• It usually develops at 45 or older, but more children, teens and young adults are getting it than in the past.
• It can be prevented or delayed with lifestyle changes.

Symptoms

Type 2 symptoms usually develop over several years and can go unnoticed for a long time — sometimes there are none at all.

Who's at risk

You're at higher risk if you:

• have prediabetes;
• have overweight;
• are 45 or older;
• have a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes;
• are physically active fewer than 3 times a week;
• ever had gestational diabetes or gave birth to a baby weighing 9 pounds or more;
• are African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native — some Pacific Islander and Asian American people are also at higher risk.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may also raise your risk.

Prevention works: lose weight if you have overweight, eat a healthy diet and get regular physical activity.

What causes it

Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, works like a key that lets blood sugar into your cells for energy. In type 2 diabetes, cells don't respond normally to insulin — insulin resistance.

1. The pancreas makes more insulin to force a response.
2. Over time it can't keep up, and blood sugar rises — first to prediabetes, then type 2 diabetes.
3. High blood sugar damages the body, leading to problems such as heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease.

Testing

A simple blood test shows whether you have diabetes. If you were tested at a health fair or pharmacy, follow up at a clinic or doctor's office to confirm.

Managing it

Diabetes is managed mostly by you, backed by your health care team, family and others close to you. It can be hard, but every step toward better health counts.

• Lifestyle: you may be able to manage it with healthy eating and activity alone.
• Medicine: your doctor may prescribe insulin or other diabetes medicines to control blood sugar and avoid complications — you'll still need to eat well and stay active.
• Blood sugar: ask how often to check it and what your targets are; staying near target helps prevent or delay complications.
• Stress: it makes diabetes harder to manage. Activity, enough sleep and relaxation exercises help; ask your doctor and diabetes educator about other ways.
• Check-ins: see your health care team regularly to stay on track and learn new strategies.
• Support: newly diagnosed or not, a diabetes educator can help.

Sources

Based on "Type 2 Diabetes," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.