Types

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting about 30,000 people in the U.S. alone. People with CF produce very sticky, thick mucas which affect the cell function of the lungs, pancreas, intestines and reporductive organs. This mucas blocks the flow of insulin (enzymes) into the intestines, which inturn prevents proper digestion of food, this often leads to Type 2 diabetes. Infact over 40% of the individuals with CF, ages 30 and up, have developed Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes (CFRD).

by John Walsh, P.A., C.D.E.

Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease that causes excessive amounts of iron to accumulate in the body. Although diabetes can be one of many unwanted side effects of the iron overload, the rate of hemochromatosis is no higher in those with diabetes than those without.

Diabetes caused by damage to the pancreas occurs after many years of hemochromatosis. In one French study, diabetes was found in 40% of 115 people at the time their hemochromatosis was diagnosed (Acta Clin Belg 1999 Dec; 54(6): pgs. 334-45).

Gestational Diabetes is a form of Type 2 diabetes that begins during pregnancy, often near the end of the second trimester or during the third trimester. It is caused by the hormones of pregnancy or by a shortage of insulin. It affects 7% of all pregnancies and over 200,000 women a year in the U.S. Although this form of diabetes tends to go away after the baby is born, type 2 diabetes is more likely later in life.

Pre-diabetes (previously called Impaired Glucose Tolerance IGT) was first named in 2003 and is designed to foster attention and action in people who receive this diagnosis. It is defined as having a blood glucose level that is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. The cutoff for pre-diabetes is a fasting blood sugar of 100 mg/dl. Fasting levels between 100 and 126 mg/dl are diagnosed as pre-diabetes and a fasting level of 126 mg/dl and up is diabetes.

aka Slow Onset Type 1 and LADA

Type 1.5 is one of several names now applied to those who are diagnosed with diabetes as adults, but who do not immediately require insulin for treatment, are often not overweight, and have little or no resistance to insulin. When special lab tests are done, they are found to have antibodies, especially GAD65 antibodies, that attack their beta cells. This sort of diabetes is sometimes called Slow Onset Type 1 or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults or LADA.

In the early 1980's, a breakthrough occurred in the understanding of diabetes. Researchers discovered antibodies in the blood of some people with diabetes which targeted the beta cells making insulin. This discovery revealed that Type 1 diabetes, which was then called childhood diabetes, was actually an autoimmune disease where the body destroyed its own beta cells because they appeared to be foreign. The presence of these antibodies distinguished it from Type 2 or adult onset diabetes.