Causes Of Diabetes Disease

Let’s take a look at diabetes causes:

Causes of Type 1 diabetes: Your immune system starts considering insulin-producing cells as foreign objects. It attacks and destroys them in the pancreas. As a result, insulin cannot help convert glucose to energy. Hence, the amount of glucose in the blood increases. This autoimmune response can be genetic or triggered by a virus attack. This type is usually seen in younger people and is early in onset. 

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes: Your body's cells become insulin-resistant, or the pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin. Thus, glucose levels rise in the bloodstream. Unhealthy lifestyle like sedentary routine and habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity are majorly responsible for this resistance as they increase glucose levels in the blood, for which the body is not able to produce sufficient insulin. This type is usually seen in older individuals and is late in onset. 

Causes of Gestational Diabetes: During pregnancy, your placenta produces hormones that make your body cells resistant to insulin. This is usually seen in elderly, obese pregnant women. 

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): PCOS is caused due to hormonal imbalances. Women who have PCOS are at a higher risk of developing diabetes disease.

Causes Of Diabetes Disease

Let’s take a look at diabetes causes:

Causes of Type 1 diabetes: Your immune system starts considering insulin-producing cells as foreign objects. It attacks and destroys them in the pancreas. As a result, insulin cannot help convert glucose to energy. Hence, the amount of glucose in the blood increases. This autoimmune response can be genetic or triggered by a virus attack. This type is usually seen in younger people and is early in onset. 

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes: Your body's cells become insulin-resistant, or the pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin. Thus, glucose levels rise in the bloodstream. Unhealthy lifestyle like sedentary routine and habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity are majorly responsible for this resistance as they increase glucose levels in the blood, for which the body is not able to produce sufficient insulin. This type is usually seen in older individuals and is late in onset. 

Causes of Gestational Diabetes: During pregnancy, your placenta produces hormones that make your body cells resistant to insulin. This is usually seen in elderly, obese pregnant women. 

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): PCOS is caused due to hormonal imbalances. Women who have PCOS are at a higher risk of developing diabetes disease.

Diagnosis of Diabetes Disease

A diabetes diagnosis can be made by checking glucose levels via blood tests:

Fasting Plasma Glucose Test: Generally conducted in the morning after overnight fasting. 126 mg/dL or higher fasting glucose level suggests diabetes. Normal level is below 100 mg/dL. Any concentration between 100 to 126 mg/dL indicates pre-diabetes. 

Random Plasma Glucose Test: It is conducted randomly without any fasting requirement. Blood sugar level above 200 ml/dL indicates overt diabetes. 

Postprandial Plasma Glucose Test: It is conducted 2 hours post meal to assess the uptake of glucose by cells post meal. Patients having 200 mg/dL and above blood glucose level in this test are diabetic. 140 to 200 mg/dL is a sign of pre-diabetes whereas blood glucose level below 140 mg/dL is normal. 

A1c Test or HbA1C or Glycated Hemoglobin Test: Calculates average blood glucose level over the past two to three months in a single test. No fasting is required. This is the most important test to assess the level of control in diabetics. Two individual tests indicating 6.5% or above A1c level shows that you have diabetes. Prediabetic patients have this between 5.7% to 6.4%. A1c level below 5.7% is normal. 

Gestational Diabetes Tests: During pregnancy, two tests are conducted. Measuring parameters for both of them is the same as the Postprandial Plasma Glucose Test. 

• Glucose Challenge Test: The patient consumes sugary drinks, and glucose levels are tested after an hour. 
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: This test is conducted if your glucose level exceeds 140 ml/dL. Glucose levels are checked at different times. First, it’s measured on an empty stomach. After that, the patient needs to eat food and then the glucose level is tested again after one, two and three hours. 

Type 1 Diabetes Test: Blood and urine samples are tested to check for presence of autoantibodies (an autoimmune sign that shows that your body is attacking itself) and the ketones (a sign that your body is burning fat as its energy supply) respectively.

Diagnosis of Diabetes Disease

A diabetes diagnosis can be made by checking glucose levels via blood tests:

Fasting Plasma Glucose Test: Generally conducted in the morning after overnight fasting. 126 mg/dL or higher fasting glucose level suggests diabetes. Normal level is below 100 mg/dL. Any concentration between 100 to 126 mg/dL indicates pre-diabetes. 

Random Plasma Glucose Test: It is conducted randomly without any fasting requirement. Blood sugar level above 200 ml/dL indicates overt diabetes. 

Postprandial Plasma Glucose Test: It is conducted 2 hours post meal to assess the uptake of glucose by cells post meal. Patients having 200 mg/dL and above blood glucose level in this test are diabetic. 140 to 200 mg/dL is a sign of pre-diabetes whereas blood glucose level below 140 mg/dL is normal. 

A1c Test or HbA1C or Glycated Hemoglobin Test: Calculates average blood glucose level over the past two to three months in a single test. No fasting is required. This is the most important test to assess the level of control in diabetics. Two individual tests indicating 6.5% or above A1c level shows that you have diabetes. Prediabetic patients have this between 5.7% to 6.4%. A1c level below 5.7% is normal. 

Gestational Diabetes Tests: During pregnancy, two tests are conducted. Measuring parameters for both of them is the same as the Postprandial Plasma Glucose Test. 

• Glucose Challenge Test: The patient consumes sugary drinks, and glucose levels are tested after an hour. 
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: This test is conducted if your glucose level exceeds 140 ml/dL. Glucose levels are checked at different times. First, it’s measured on an empty stomach. After that, the patient needs to eat food and then the glucose level is tested again after one, two and three hours. 

Type 1 Diabetes Test: Blood and urine samples are tested to check for presence of autoantibodies (an autoimmune sign that shows that your body is attacking itself) and the ketones (a sign that your body is burning fat as its energy supply) respectively.

Assurance by NanoHealth Disease Management Program

Assurance by NanoHealth helps in timely identification, diagnosis and treatment by pairing you with the right care providers. 

Our disease care management programs include: 

1. Regular interactions with your health coach for treatment adherence. 
2. Periodic doctor consultations to ensure effective treatment. 
3. Routine blood tests to track the progress and improvements.

Assurance is with you every step of the way until maximum health and wellness are achieved.