Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Type II diabetes, which was previously known as adult-onset on non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is a metabolic disorder which is caused by the body’s resistance to insulin and by lowered, poor insulin production. Type II diabetes is far more common than type I diabetes and accounts for about 90% to 95% of all cases of diabetes.

Type II diabetes is principally seen in older adults, over the age of 40, although it is increasingly being diagnosed at younger ages and is even now being seen quite commonly in children. The incidence of type II diabetes, particularly in Western countries, is also increasing rapidly (due in large part to the prevalence of obesity) and it is currently categorized by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as having reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

In its early stages the symptoms of type II diabetes can be quite mild and it is possible to suffer from the condition for many years before it is diagnosed. It is however a potentially very dangerous condition and undetected type II diabetes can lead to a number of serious complications including blindness, the inability of wounds to heal, renal failure and coronary artery disease.

It is estimated that approximately one in five adults over the age of 65 in the United States suffers from type II diabetes. The condition is more common amongst Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites and is slightly more common in older women than in men.

The origin of type II diabetes is unknown and, while there is believed to be a genetic component to the disease this is much less clearly seen than it is in the case of type I diabetes. There is however clear evidence to show that environmental factors play a large role in the onset of type II diabetes and this is especially true in the case of obesity, a lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle.

It is often thought that type I and type II diabetes are essentially the same thing and that the difference lies simply in the name, with type I diabetes being associated with the disease in childhood and type II diabetes being seen in adults. This in not the case. While there are of course some similarities, type I and type II diabetes are quite separate conditions and require quite different forms of treatment.

In the case of type I diabetes the body fails to produce insulin, which is necessary for the body to transfer the energy that it needs in the form of glucose from the blood into the muscles and other body cells. In the case of type II diabetes the problem is not that the body does not produce insulin, although in some cases insulin production may be low, but that the body develops a resistant to insulin which prevents it from transferring glucose into the muscles and other body cells.

Type II diabetes is a chronic condition for which there is no cure and for which treatment is therefore aimed at managing the disease to reduce the incidence of complications (many of which can be life-threatening) and to maintain a good quality of life for the sufferer.

In the first instant patients with type II diabetes will be treated with a carefully designed program of diet and exercise (including a weight loss plan where needed) and this can be very successful in controlling levels of glucose within the blood and can often considerably improve a patient’s sensitivity to insulin. Where this treatment is not successful, or in cases where the disease progresses, the condition is then treated with a range of medication.