Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body no longer manufactures its own insulin when the immune system has been compromised, and the cells that manufacture it no longer work. A combination of genetic and environmental factors are believed to be responsible. Patients with this affliction must take insulin every day because diabetes is incurable, but it can be controlled.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, occurs as people age and sometimes is called adult-onset diabetes. Like Type 1, Type 2 sufferers begin to lose the ability to make insulin or have a body that doesn’t manufacture it as efficiently as it used to. Although the cause of the disease is unknown, diet and lifestyle are believed to be strong influences, particularly when the patient is obese and largely inactive. Type 2 diabetics can’t be cured, although the disease can be managed with an improved diet, weight loss and exercise.
The American Association of Diabetes Educators, a trade organization focused on the disease, reports that nearly 10 percent of the United States population has diabetes, and about 86 million are in a pre-diabetic state. About 14 percent of all health-care spending is devoted to combatting this disease.
The Non-Compliant
But having the disease and complying with its treatment are two different things. Doctors will advise patients to take their medicine as directed, keep track of blood glucose, lose weight and get some exercise. But apparently, according to the American Association of Diabetes Educators, that sound advice is largely ignored.