What Are the Early Signs of Type 2 Diabetes?

In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells cannot take up glucose properly, leading to high levels of glucose in the blood.

Diabetesis a chronic disease characterized by increased bloodsugar(glucose) level.Diabetesis caused by either insufficientinsulinsecretion or resistance to that hormone’s action.

Insulin is produced by the pancreas and helps process the glucose in the blood. Thus, with inadequate insulin, the bodies can’tburn所有的血sugarfor energy in an efficient way. This means the glucose level in the blood rises, causing a variety of symptoms and when severe may even lead to death.

An estimated 9.4% of the population in the United States (30.3 million) were affected bydiabetesin 2017, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention(CDC).

Factors that influence the development oftype 2 diabetesinclude:

• Genetic factors
• Increased intake of carbohydrates
• Excessive intake of calorie
• Obesity
• High-risk ethnic background
  • Asian
  • Hispanic
  • Native American
  • African American
  • Asian American
• Lack of physical activity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Age greater than 45 years
• Family history of diabetes
• History of diabetes duringpregnancy
• Ovarian cystdiseas

The classic symptoms oftype 2 diabetesseen in the early stages are

• Increasedthirst
• Increased urine frequency
• Increased appetite
• Urinating frequently at night
• Weight loss
• Fatigue

The symptoms which occur in the later stages are

• Blurred vision
• Numb or tingling hands andfeet
• Wounds that heal slowly
• Increased infections than usual
• Low blood sugarlevel

Most frequently, however,type 2 diabetesdoes not cause any symptoms for several years and may go unnoticed.

糖尿病,如果不及时治疗或控制不好,can lead to severe complications, which are as follows:

• It may affect different organs of the body especially, theheart, eye, kidney, and nerves.
• It may affect the eyes causingblindnessin adults.
• It is a major contributor to end-stagekidney diseasein the United States.
• It can lead to leg amputation.
• There is an increased rate of post-surgerypneumonia.
• The risk ofstrokeis higher.
• The death rate is higher amongCOVID-19patients with an underlying diabetic condition.

The different diagnostic criteria set by the American Diabetes Association are:

• A fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dL, or higher
• Anoral glucose tolerance testwhich shows 200 mg/dL or higher
• A random glucose test of 200 mg/dL or higher in a patient showing typical symptoms of increased blood glucose level
• Ahemoglobin A1C(HA1C), the test should show a result of 6.5% or higher

Goals of treatment are as follows:

• Preventingblindness或终末期肾脏疾病,通过控制提单ood sugar level andblood pressure
• Preventingstrokeorheart diseaseby controllingcholesterol, blood pressure, and tobacco use.
• Preventing nerve damage by controlling blood sugar

Drugsthat are used to treat diabetes are known as anti-diabetic medications. The different classes of antidiabetic drugs used are:

• Biguanides:metformin
• Sulfonylureas:glyburide,glipizide
• Meglitinide derivatives:repaglinide
• Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors:acarbose
• Glucagon-like peptide:semaglutide
• Thiazolidinediones:pioglitazone
• Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors:sitagliptin
• Amylinomimetics:pramlintide
• Selective sodium-glucose transporter inhibitors:dapagliflozin,canagliflozin
• Bile acid sequestrants:colesevelam
• Rapid-Acting insulins
• Intermediate-acting insulins
• Long-acting insulins
• Dopamineagonists:bromocriptine

Diabetes can be well-controlled by controlling the symptoms, but it cannot be completely cured as it is a chronic disease. Hence, prevention is key.

• Lead a healthy lifestyle by reducing weight.
• Ensure a balanceddietwith propernutrition.
• Avoid junk food or extremely fatty foods.
• Exercisedaily for 30-40 minutes.
• Limit the intake ofalcoholand refrain fromsmokingtobacco.
• Increasing the intake of some essential矿物质such as magnesium has shown to decrease the risk of diabetes.
• Monitor the blood sugar level from time to time.
• 是缺点cientious about your annual eye check-ups.