Type 1 Diabetes: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Diabetes means that the level of glucose — blood sugar — in your blood is too high. In type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin.

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It helps glucose move from the blood into the body's cells, which use it for energy. Glucose comes from the food you eat, and the body can also make it. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in the blood.

Why high blood glucose matters

• Over time, high blood glucose can cause serious problems with the heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth.
• When it gets very high, it can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Without enough insulin to let glucose into the cells, the liver breaks down fat for energy instead, which produces ketones. If ketones build up too fast they can reach dangerous levels. DKA is a life-threatening emergency.

Causes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease: the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Researchers do not yet know exactly why. Genes and environmental factors may both help trigger it.

Who gets it

It often starts in children and young adults, but can appear at any age. Having a parent or sibling with type 1 diabetes may raise your chance of developing it.

Symptoms

Symptoms often come on quickly, especially in children; in adults they may develop more slowly. They can include:

• feeling very thirsty;
• feeling very hungry;
• urinating more often, including at night;
• fatigue;
• blurry vision;
• loss of feeling, or tingling, in the feet or hands;
• sores that do not heal;
• losing weight without trying.

Diagnosis

Blood tests that measure blood glucose can show whether it is higher than normal.

Treatment

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, long-term condition. It needs insulin every day, by injection or through an insulin pump. Some people also take another diabetes medicine that works alongside insulin. Your health care provider can advise on the best way to check your blood glucose and how often.

Prevention

Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented. But you may be able to prevent or delay the health problems it causes by:

• managing your blood glucose, checked with finger-prick tests or a continuous glucose monitor (CGM);
• making healthy food choices;
• exercising regularly.

A blood test called the A1C shows how well your diabetes has been managed over time.

Sources

• MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Diabetes Type 1," drawing on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://medlineplus.gov/diabetestype1.html
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.