International Diabetes Center > Disease Information

Disease information

Diabetes is a disease that causes high blood glucose. It is a chronic disease that can be managed but not cured. Three possible reasons people develop diabetes include their bodies’ inability to:

• make any insulin
• make enough insulin
• use insulin properly

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, a gland in the body near the stomach. Insulin is necessary to change glucose (body's energy source) into energy. Glucose is a form of sugar made when the body digests food. When insulin is not available, glucose stays in the bloodstream and cannot be used as energy.

Three main types of diabetes are:

• type 1 diabetes
• type 2 diabetes
• gestational diabetes

Between 180 million and 194 million people worldwide have diabetes, with an estimated 18.2 million people in the United States. Of these, most have type 2 diabetes and 5 percent to 10 percent have type 1 diabetes. About 4 percent of all pregnant women have gestational diabetes. Another 41 million people in the United States, ages 40 to 74, have prediabetes, the stage before type 2 diabetes.

If diabetes is left untreated, blood glucose levels remain high and can damage blood vessels. This damage can lead to serious nerve, heart, eye or kidney problems. With proper treatment, education and self-care, people with diabetes can live long, healthy lives.

Find out about eating disorders and diabetes.

To make an appointment with International Diabetes Center, call 952-993-3393 or toll-free at 888-825-6315.