What Are the Differences of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1diabetes is insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Infections (especially virus infection), toxins and other factors cause abnormal cellular and humoral immunity which will attack and kill the pancreatic beta cells, as a result the pancreas can not secrete enough insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is non-IDDM. Pathogenic factors can disturb the balance of blood structure and reduce efficacy of the insulin. The pancreas will be first involved and after long term overload work, it will be damaged and cause high blood sugar.

The most obvious differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes are age and body weight. Most type 1 diabetes are adolescents and children while most type 2 patients are above their 40s. Of cause there are some exception, but it only accounts small proportion. In a word, the younger, the higher risk of type 1 diabetes; the older, the more incidence of type 2 diabetes. Regarding body weight, most type 2 diabetes are over-weight and obese while type 1 patients usually have normal or low weight.

Type 1 diabetes has obvious clinical symptoms like three polys and one little (polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, weight loss) while these symptoms are not obvious in type 2. They also have different complications. Type 1 diabetes will easily cause complications as fundus lesions, kidney involvement and neuropathy while vessel arteriosclerosis in the heart, brain and kidneys and high blood pressure is more common in type 2 diabetes. One major difference is that type 2 diabetes patients have more incidence to have coronary heart disease and cardiovascular accidents.

Of cause treatments are different for these 2 types of diabetes. Diet control and oral intake of hypoglycemic agents can have effects on type 2 diabetes while type 1 diabetes need to insulin injection to control high blood sugar level.

In a word, type 1 and type 2 diabetes have differences from the following aspects---age, body weight, clinical symptoms and complications as well as treatments.

Diabetes itself is not dangerous. What patients should concern more are the complications of diabetes, therefore early treatments are necessary to help stabilize the illness condition and reduce the risk of complications in other organs and systems.