The most common type of
diabetes is
type 2 diabetes. This type was formally known as adult-onset diabetes. About 90 percent to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. This diabetes type is associated with:
- Older age
- Obesity
- Family history of diabetes
- Previous history of gestational diabetes
- Physical inactivity
- Ethnicity.
About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents. However, nationally representative data on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in youth are not available.
When this type of diabetes is diagnosed, the
pancreas is usually producing enough
insulin, but for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for
type 1 diabetes -- glucose builds up in the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.
- Nausea or fatigue
- Frequent urination
- Unusual thirst
- Blurred vision
- Weight loss
- Frequent infections
- Slow healing of wounds or sores.
However, some people have no symptoms.
Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy. Like type 2 diabetes, this diabetes type occurs more often in:
- African Americans
- American Indians
- Hispanic Americans
- Women with a family history of diabetes.
Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20 percent to 50 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.
Previous
