Diabetes type 2
Le Type 2 diabetes is a disease characterized by hyperglycemia chronic, that is to say by a too high level of glucose (sucre) in the blood. This disease usually occurs in older adults, and more commonly affects people who are obese or overweight.
In a healthy individual, blood sugar control is done by insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin allows sugar to enter cells for use as fuel, especially in muscles and liver. In a person with type 2 diabetes, the body becomes unable to regulate glucose, that is, the level of glucose in the blood. This is when the blood sugar rises (we speak of hyperglycemia). In the long term, if blood sugar is not lowered by treatment, it can cause serious health problems, especially cardiovascular problems.
This chronic disease requires individualized treatment and close monitoring by the affected person and the medical team. The healthy lifestyle are the basis of the treatment. If these habits are not enough to lower blood sugar, pharmaceuticals can be used.
There are 2 main forms of diabetes, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, both characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. Le Type 1 diabetes occurs in young people and often appears in childhood. It is caused by an autoimmune destruction of the pancreas that no longer produces insulin. The cause is not well known and there is currently no possible prevention. People with the condition are therefore dependent on insulin, which must be administered by injection. As to Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of diabetes cases, it occurs later in life. It is mainly due to a state of insulin resistance and is associated with overweight. |
A rapidly growing disease
The number of people with Type 2 diabetes is steadily increasing and this trend is attributed to the ‘western’ way of life, which is associated with inactivity and obesity, as well as aging Population. Globally, the International Diabetes Federation predicts that the number of people with diabetes could increase from 285 million in 2010 to 438 million in 2030.
In Canada, in 2009, 6% of people over the age of 12 reported having diabetes. This rate increases with age, reaching almost 18% among those 65 and over. In total, more than 9 million Canadians have diabetes or prediabetes, including 650 Quebecers. In addition, many cases of diabetes are unknown because they go undetected.
Type 2 diabetes usually begins after the age of 40, but is now more and morechildren and and D’Adolescents, because of obesity which affects more and more young people.
Causes
Le diabetes results from the combination of genetic and environmental factors, as well as factors related to way of life. In general, each person carries a hereditary baggage which predisposes them to suffer from diabetes or, on the contrary, protects them. Researchers are now aware of several genes that put an individual at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In people genetically predisposed to the disease, it is usually the overweight and particularly the accumulation of fat in the organs of theabdomen that lead to insulin resistance, the first step to type 2 diabetes.
Initially, to compensate for resistance to insulin, the pancreas starts making more insulin. However, over time the pancreas becomes exhausted and insulin secretion decreases. There is therefore a relative lack of insulin and the blood sugar remains continuously elevated.
Le Type 2 diabetes is therefore the result of 2 phenomena: first insulin resistance, then the exhaustion of the pancreas.
Diagnostic
As the Type 2 diabetes is rarely accompanied by symptoms in its early stages, it is often discovered incidentally during a routine medical examination.
benefits blood sugar tests can detect it: a fasting or random blood sugar test and, sometimes, a test for induced hyperglycemia. This last test consists of a blood glucose reading 2 hours after having ingested a sweet juice containing 75 g of glucose. Often, fasting blood sugar gradually rises over the years from a normal level to an intermediate state of prediabetes and then to the diabetic threshold.
Blood sugar can be measured by blood test or estimated thanks to a blood glucose meter (glucometer), which allows you to analyze blood sugar levels on a drop of blood taken from your fingertip.
Even if the results are normal, it is usually recommended that you have these tests at regular intervals in order to find the disease as soon as possible.
Possible complications
For information on acute complications (hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia caused by adjustment of treatment and hyperosmolar hyperglycemia syndrome in untreated diabetics), see our Diabetes fact sheet (overview).
In the long term, many diabetics see their condition worsen due to their disease, especially if the diabetes is not well controlled and monitored. This is because chronically high blood sugar gradually damages nerves and blood vessels, mainly in the eyes and kidneys. Diabetes can therefore be the cause of cardiovascular disease, vision loss irreversible, of pain due to nerve damage or kidney failure. For more information, see our Complications of Diabetes fact sheet.