What Are Some Important Facts About Diabetes?

Diabetes is a medical condition in which the body either does not produce enough insulin--the hormone that allows the body to use the glucose, or sugar, in the blood stream-- or it is unable to properly use the insulin it does produce. Diabetes is a chronic condition that can be treated, but does not yet have a cure.

• Diabetes is a chronic, incurable disease, according to UAB Medicine.

Types

• There are two main types of diabetes. People with Type 1 are unable to produce enough insulin to survive, and they require daily injections. Those with Type 2 diabetes are unable to utilize insulin effectively. Type 2 is treated with a combination of medication and lifestyle change.

Symptoms

• According to the World Health Organization, most people with Type 2 diabetes will not show obvious symptoms. Almost half of the people with Type 2 do not know it, and they are usually not diagnosed until years after they developed the disease.

Cardiovascular Disease

• Most people do not die as a direct result of diabetes. The World Health Organization estimates that 50 to 80 percent of deaths in diabetics are the result of cardiovascular disease.

Complications

• Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, impotence and lower-imb amputation. It is the sixth leading cause of death in Americans, and more than 200,000 people die each year from its complications.

Treatment

• The best treatment for diabetes is early detection and prevention, according to the World Health Organization. The risk of developing diabetes can be reduced by 50 percent through weight loss and exercise.