From eu.usatoday.com
It’s estimated that 38.4 million Americans live with diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and other severe health conditions. And according to recent research, it’s possible that as many as 44% of people in the U.S. above the age of 15 may have undiagnosed diabetes.
There have been incredible advances in treatments to manage diabetes, and identifying the condition in its early stages can vastly lower your risk for serious complications. Here are the signs and symptoms experts need you to know.
What is diabetes? What is the difference between type 1 and type 2?
Diabetes comes about when the blood sugar in your body is too high, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Our bodies need glucose – which you can get from eating healthy, carbohydrate-rich foods like starchy vegetables, whole grains and legumes – for essential fuel. When the endocrine system is functioning properly, the pancreas releases insulin hormone to help manage glucose levels. But if your body becomes insulin resistant, or you’re producing too little of the hormone, glucose can accumulate in the blood, leading to high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia), per Cleveland Clinic.
There are a few different types of diabetes, but type 2 is by far the most common, accounting for 90% to 95% of all diabetes diagnoses in the U.S., according to NIDDK. It occurs when your body becomes resistant to insulin. The condition most often presents in adults, but the proportion of adolescents being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing, says Dr. Joseph A. Aloi, MD, a professor of medicine at Wake Forest University.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease (typically arising in younger people) that occurs when your immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin, leaving you with little to no insulin at all, per NIDDK.
How do you know if you have diabetes?
There are a few overlapping symptoms between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, including unintentional weight loss, excessive thirst, excessive urination, recurring yeast infections and blurry vision (if you wear glasses, this might even feel like your eyeglass prescription is a little off), says Dr. Janet O’Mahony, an internal medicine doctor at Mercy Personal Physicians Downtown.
The symptoms of type 1 often develop much quicker than that of type 2. Prior to a diabetes diagnosis, it’s not uncommon for type 1 patients to end up in the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), says Dr. Priya Kundra, MD, an endocrinologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. This is a potentially life-threatening, severe illness that comes about when certain acids in your body (ketones) accumulate in your blood due to a lack of insulin, per the NHS.
As for type 2, one of the difficulties of catching the condition in its early stages is that symptoms can develop very gradually. “Diabetes is a chronic condition, and it can get worse over time,” says Kundra. So, unless you’re very proactive about getting regular blood sugar checks, the early symptoms could be mild enough that you might not realize something is wrong.
What is the best way to treat diabetes?
If diabetes is left untreated, your risk for serious health conditions (including kidney disease, heart attack, stroke, blindness and amputations) vastly increases, says O’Mahony.
When it comes to medication, type 1 diabetes is primarily treated with insulin therapy, such as through daily injection or a pump. If you have type 1, blood sugar monitoring, such as using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), is essential, says Kundra.
Type 2 diabetes is commonly treated with metformin, a daily oral medication, and could be accompanied by insulin therapy. But there have been many more advancements in the realm of treatment.
At the top of the list: GLP-1s. In 2005, the first GLP-1 agonist was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes. In 2024 alone, one in four Americans with type 2 diabetes were prescribed a GLP-1, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics. The emergence of SGLT2 inhibitors have also had positive health outcomes for people with type 2 diabetes, says Aloi.
The bottom line is: “Early detection is important. If you look at people with prediabetes, a good number of them have already developed complications,” says Aloi. The American Diabetes Association’s longstanding recommendation was for people over the age of 45 to get screened for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes every three years. The ADA revised this recommendation in 2022 to encourage people to begin screening starting age 35.
If it's identified through screening that you have prediabetes, “this is your opportunity to prevent progression,” he says. Your healthcare provider can help craft an individualized treatment plan that considers lifestyle habits, medication and takes into account other pre-existing conditions to help you prevent serious health complications down the line.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/11/03/what-is-diabetes/86850083007/
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