Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune disease also known as juvenile diabetes) and type 2 diabetes (a metabolic disorder also known as adult onset diabetes). In juvenile diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables cells to get energy from food.
Juvenile diabetes usually strikes in childhood but lasts a lifetime. People with juvenile diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump just to survive. Those with type 2 produce insulin, but their bodies are unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent “epidemic” in cases of type 2 diabetes in young adults and children under 10 years of age. Taking insulin does not cure any type of diabetes nor prevent the possibility of its eventual and devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputation, heart attack and stroke.
Diabetes impacts millions of children and adults around the world:
Diabetes kills one American every three minutes.
About 17 million Americans have the disease; of these 5.9 million remain undiagnosed. In Washington, more than 266,000 residents are estimated to have diabetes.
Diabetes afflicts 150 million people worldwide, and the World Health Organization estimates that number will more than double by 2025.
Last year, diabetes accounted for more than $130 billion in health-care costs in the U.S. It accounts for 25 percent of all Medicare expenditures.
About Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune disease also known as juvenile diabetes) and type 2 diabetes (a metabolic disorder also known as adult onset diabetes). In juvenile diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables cells to get energy from food.
Juvenile diabetes usually strikes in childhood but lasts a lifetime. People with juvenile diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump just to survive. Those with type 2 produce insulin, but their bodies are unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent “epidemic” in cases of type 2 diabetes in young adults and children under 10 years of age. Taking insulin does not cure any type of diabetes nor prevent the possibility of its eventual and devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputation, heart attack and stroke.
Diabetes impacts millions of children and adults around the world:
Learn more about type 1 diabetes.