Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic
diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not
produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.
This high blood sugar produces the classical symptoms of Polyuria (frequent urination),
Polydipsia (increased thirst) and Polyphagia (increased hunger).
Types of diabetes
- Type 1 diabetes:
results from the body's failure to produce insulin, and presently requires the person
to inject insulin. (Also referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM
for short, and juvenile diabetes)
- Type 2 diabetes: results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail
to use insulin properly, sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency.
(Formerly referred to as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM for short,
and adult-onset diabetes)
- Gestational diabetes: is when pregnant women, who have never had diabetes before,
have a high blood glucose level during pregnancy. It may precede development of
type 2 DM.
- Other forms of diabetes mellitus include congenital diabetes, which is due to genetic
defects of insulin secretion, cystic fibrosis-related diabetes, steroid diabetes
induced by high doses of glucocorticoids, and several forms of monogenic diabetes.