Which Type of Diabetes [Type 1 or 2] Is Worse? And Why?

Healthful Vitality | 01/04/2023 | Which Type of Diabetes [Type 1 or 2] Is Worse? And Why?

We must examine, in short, what diabetes is before considering the questions: which type of diabetes [type 1 or 2] is worse? And why [reasons]?

Diabetes is a complex, chronic, heterogeneous metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels. However, it is not just about high blood sugar levels but also about lipid and protein metabolism changes and much more.

Despite years of research, diabetes is still not fully understood. High blood sugar is its most reliable biomarker or way of diagnosing the condition. Thus, a person with an A1C of above 6.5% or fasting blood sugar of 126 mg/dl or above is regarded as living with diabetes.

Types of Diabetes

The rise in blood sugar levels may occur for many reasons. Thus, American Diabetes Association classifies diabetes into four categories.

1. Type 1 diabetes – also called insulin diabetes, is diabetes if lean and young. It is an autoimmune disorder, a condition when insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas are completely destroyed due to autoimmunity. It is a type of diabetes affecting 5-10% of people in various population groups. It almost always has an insidious beginning.
2. Type 2 diabetes is more about insulin resistance due to lifestyle choices. It is often diagnosed in obese adults, though not necessarily. In the condition, apart from insulin resistance, there is a progressive loss of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. About 80-90% of all people living with diabetes are affected by type 2 diabetes. It develops gradually over the years.
3. Specific kinds of diabetes may occur due to many reasons like the use of medications, tumors, cysts, HIV, and other health issues causing loss of pancreatic tissues.
4. Gestational diabetes – is a kind of diabetes diagnosed in the second or third trimester. Many of those diagnosed with gestational diabetes may ultimately develop type 2 diabetes.

Thus, as one can see, there are mainly two kinds of diabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and other kinds of diabetes are relatively less common.

Since 80-90% of those living with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, it may appear that this is the worst kind of diabetes. However, it is not the case. In reality, type 1 diabetes is much worse due to several reasons as explained in the below section.

Why [Reasons] for type 1 diabetes much worse?

1. Unlike type 2 diabetes, which is generally diagnosed in adults, often in people in their thirties, type 1 is diagnosed at a young age, mostly at the age of 5 to 7 years. Type 1 is even diagnosed in infants and kids. However, the majority of those living with type 1 diabetes have been diagnosed with the condition before their 15^th birthday.
2. In type 1 diabetes, there is a complete loss of beta cells in the pancreas, and the beginning of the condition is also insidious or sudden. It is often presented with life-threatening complications like diabetic ketoacidosis.
3. Due to the complete loss of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin therapy from day one. This is unlike type 2 diabetes, in which a person is initially treated with oral drugs.

For those living with type 1 diabetes, it is a lifelong struggle. They need to take insulin daily from the day of diagnosis. It also means taking much care not to exceed the dosage and learning to prevent hypoglycemia and other health issues. Hence, there is no doubt that type 1 diabetes is among the most severe kinds of diabetes and is the worst form of diabetes.

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