Essay Sample on Types of Diabetes: Gestational, Juvenile and Adult-Onset Diabetes

Introduction

Excessive glucose in the body results in health problems. There might be an occurrence of different types of diabetes in the human body. The different types of diabetes have different methods of management (Joseph, 2015). Not all diabetes types result in obesity in a patient hence making the patient have an inactive lifestyle. Some types of diabetes are usually present in patients from their childhood.

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There are three major types of diabetes, and those are gestational diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes. Insulin-dependent diabetes is a health condition characterized by the pancreas producing less or no insulin. Type 1 diabetes may be contributed by either viruses or genetics. Despite children and adolescents being the most vulnerable to diabetes type 1, the disease can also attack adults. Insulin-dependent diabetes cannot be cured (Joseph, 2015). Treating this type of diabetes is mainly targeted in managing the insulin, glucose level in the blood, lifestyle, and the diet of the patient to prevent further body complications.

Causes of Type I Diabetes

It is not known what exactly causes type 1 diabetes. One of the possible causes of type 1 diabetes is the body's immune system responsible for fighting unsafe bacteria and viruses destroying the Islets of Langerhans cells, which produces insulin in the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes can also be caused by body interaction with viruses and other factors of the environment. The final possible cause of type 1 diabetes is genetics.

Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes

It is not well known on the best way to prevent type diabetes; however, current researches are focusing on preventing the body's immune system from destroying the Islet cells in newly dragonized patients (Joseph, 2015). It is recommended for patients suffering from type 1 diabetes to take insulin on a daily basis for them to stay alive.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a type of diabetes that prevents the body from properly using insulin. Patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are said to be insulin resistant (Rachel, 2020). Type 2 diabetes mostly attacks older and middle-aged people. Type 2 diabetes was initially called adult-onset diabetes. Obesity from childhood makes it possible for type 2 diabetes to affect adolescents and children. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes.

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

The pancreas of Type 2 diabetes patients produce insulin, but the insulin is not maximally used by the body to produce energy. There are several factors that are likely to cause type 2 diabetes, and they include Poor communication between cells, broken beta cells, excessive glucose from the liver, obesity, and metabolic disorder.

Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Management of type 2 diabetes incorporates medication and change in lifestyle. The targeted blood glucose levels can be attained by continuous exercise and a healthy diet. The following lifestyle should be practiced by type 2 diabetes patients: healthy eating, exercise, and other physical activities keeping watch of the blood glucose levels (Rachel, 2020). The most common medications for type 2 diabetes are meglitinides, metformin, sulfonylureas, insulin, thiazolidinediones, SGLT2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during the gestation period.

Gestational diabetes results in high blood glucose levels that may have a negative impact on both the pregnancy and the health of the baby (Joseph, 2015). Usually, gestational diabetes disappears after the birth of the baby. People with gestational diabetes have higher chances of having type 2 diabetes later in their lives.

Causes of Gestational Diabetes

During pregnancy, the placenta produces other hormones that affect the conversion of glucose into energy by insulin (Joseph, 2015). The impairment of insulin functioning increases blood glucose. As the baby grows, the insulin placenta produces more insulin-counteracting hormones hence further affecting the function of insulin hence leading to a rise in blood sugar levels, which negatively affects the health of the baby. Gestational diabetes mostly develops in the last levels of pregnancy.

Medicating Gestational Diabetes

The standard medication for gestational diabetes is insulin injection. Fast-Acting insulin taken before a meal may be prescribed or long-acting or intermediate insulin that is taken upon waking or during bedtime (Rachel, 2020). Oral medication may also be prescribed by a doctor, and that includes Micronase, Diabeta or Glynase, or Glucophage, Riomet, or Fortamet.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus is a condition characterized by a lack of enough insulin or a malfunction in the way the body functions. Insulin is a pancreas produced hormone that maintains a balance in blood sugar. Rising sugar levels lead to Hyperglycemia, a condition of uncontrolled diabetes. Consequences related to this condition include extensive damage to different body systems (Joseph, 2015). Commonly affected are nerves and blood vessels. Glucose is a simple sugar and an essential nutrient found in starch foods. This nutrient provides the body with the energy used for the proper functioning of the cells. The small intestine is tasked with breaking down carbohydrates. The resulting glucose is then taken up by the intestinal cells and channeled into the bloodstream. However, glucose depends on insulin to reach the cells. This means that cells get starved if insulin is not produced. The function of glucose in the body, therefore, is not possible without insulin.

Type 1 diabetes is a condition of deficient insulin. This means the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. A patient with diabetes 1 requires regular administration of insulin. Type 1 diabetes symptoms include blurred vision, excessive urine, thirst, weight loss, hunger, and fatigue. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the autoimmune attack of the pancreas. This is where the body is rendered incapable of producing insulin. Patients with type 1 diabetes have been found to suffer from abnormal antibodies. Antibodies are blood proteins that are responsible for body immunity.

The history of the family is the commonly recognized risk factor for patients with type 1 diabetes. Additional causes include certain toxicities affecting the pancreas (Joseph, 2015). Factors leading to diabetes 2 include the following: Excessive weight gain, high blood pressure, increasing age, sedentary lifestyle, polycystic ovary syndrome, insulin resistance, gestational diabetes, ethnic tolerance, and ethnic background.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by disordered use of insulin by the body. This is the most dominant condition among many diabetes patients around the world (Rachel, 2020). Type 2 diabetes is largely caused by excessive weight gain. Symptoms do not depart so much from Type 1 except that the former takes more time to diagnose. Type 2 diabetes mainly affected adults until the recent increasing diagnosis in children. Type 2 diabetes was previously called non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), otherwise adult-onset diabetes mellitus (AODM), is a condition mainly characterized by diminished sensitivity of the body cells to insulin (especially fat and muscle cells).

In type 2 diabetes, patients still produce insulin, but only relatively inefficiently for the requirement of the body. This mostly means that the pancreas releases larger than normal amounts of insulin. Additionally, the known steady decline in the capacity of beta cells to produce insulin leads to worsened control of glucose (Rachel, 2020). This is a leading cause for many type 2 diabetes patients who eventually need insulin administration. Also, the liver of such patients carries on to generate glucose via gluconeogenesis. The control of this gluconeogenesis thus becomes compromised.

Produced by the beta cells in the pancreas, insulin is a body hormone at the center of blood sugar balance in the body. In addition to helping in the absorption of glucose, insulin s also responsible for regulating glucose levels in the blood. The glucose level goes up after eating starch. While responding to the increasing level of glucose, the pancreas produces extra insulin, which enters the blood. This helps the glucose to enter the cells and bring blood levels back to the optimum. Once the blood glucose level is back to normal, the insulin release is turned down. Note that even during fasting, little amounts of insulin will still be produced to help steady the levels of sugar in the blood during the fast. In healthy individuals, this system of regulation plays an important role in keeping blood glucose in a perfectly controlled range.

Therefore, in diabetic patients, insulin is either completely deficient or relatively insufficient (Joseph, 2015). This is all caused by elevated levels of glucose in the body. As earlier mentioned, Hyperglycemia is a condition characterized by above-normal glucose values. Gestational diabetes is a type of Hyperglycemia that hasn't reached the level of diagnosable diabetes, and it's common during pregnancy. Expectant women with this condition are likely to develop complications progressing through pregnancy to delivery. These women and their children are also exposed to Type 2 diabetes. Although type 2 diabetes is commonly associated with individuals aged 30 and above, the alarming number of children becoming victims of type 2 diabetes has changed the notion. Most of these incidences are attributed to excessive weight gain, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise. While this type of diabetes is commonly a factor of genes, other risk factors like obesity come out quite significantly. In direct relationship has been established between the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and the degree of obesity (Joseph, 2015). This is true for both adults and children. It's estimated that there is a 20% increase in the chances of diabetes development for people with undesirable body weight

Preventing diabetes takes simple lifestyle measures. Some basic recommendations known to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and related complications include the following: Striving to keep fit and maintaining healthy body weight, observing a healthy diet, avoiding excess sugar and fats, avoiding tobacco. Smoking tobacco exposes one to diabetes alongside numerous hear disorders

Timely diagnosis is possible thanks to inexpensive sugar tests available today. Diabetes treatment involves observing a recommended diet, engaging in body fitness activities, and administering a medication that reduces blood glucose levels, among other risk factors. Keeping off tobacco is also a necessary measure to avoid complications (Joseph, 2015). For blood sugar balance, patients with Type 1 diabetes have to receive insulin in cases of deficiency. Blood pressure control and foot treatment include other curative measures against diabetes. Screening and treating retinopathy, blood lipid regulation, and screening for diabe...