What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease which affects multiple systems in the body. It is related to atypical insulin production, and or impaired use of insulin in the body. More then 2 million people in Canada have been diagnosed with diabetes and about one third of those with diabetes have not been diagnosed with the disease.
“Diabetes is the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, adult blindness, and non traumatic lower limb amputations”
(Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, 2004, p. 1268)
Type 1 Diabetes
Also known as juvenile or insulin dependant diabetes. This type of diabetes occurs in people who are 30 years old or younger. Signs and Symptoms for Type 1 Diabetes include frequent urination, excessive thirst, excessive hunger, weight loss, weakness, fatigue (Lewis et al, 2004). These symptoms become apparent after the pancreas can no longer produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes is caused by destruction of pancreatic cells as a result of an autoimmune process in some individual.
Type 2 Diabetes
The most prevalent community affected by type of diabetes in Canada is the Native Americans who are 3-5 times more likely to have a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. (Lewis et al, 2004). Signs and symptoms for Type 2 diabetes include fatigue, infections that come and go, wound healing which takes a long time to heal, changes to vision (Lewis et al, 2004).
Gestational Diabetes
This type of diabetes develops during pregnancy, it occurs in 6% of pregnancies in North America.
Gestational diabetes can be diagnosed at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. Women who are diagnosed with this type of diabetes put their baby at risk for perinatal death, early delivery; neonatal complications and most babies are delivered via cesarean section.
Woman who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes within 5- 10 years after pregnancy.
For management and prevention of gestational diabetes please take a look at our treatment page for all the details.
