by David Cowley

Created on: March 18, 2010

Understanding the nature of diabetes mellitus is the first step in fighting this disease. Remember that the more you know about the enemy, the better equipped you are to fight it. To help you fight off diabetes mellitus, here are five very important things that you need to know about the disease.

Types Of Diabetes Mellitus

There are two major types of diabetes mellitus namely, type 1 and type II. Of the two types of diabetes, type I is usually more serious and life threatening. Approximately 10% of all diabetes patients in the United States have type 1 diabetes mellitus. Unlike type II diabetes which is preventable, type 1 diabetes is almost impossible to prevent. Note that in type 1 diabetes or juvenile onset diabetes mellitus, the body mistakenly produces antibodies and inflammatory cells that attack the pancreas and render it incapable of producing enough insulin. Experts believe that the tendency of the body to produce excessive amount of antibodies is genetically inherited. This means that some are predisposed to type 1 diabetes mellitus while others are not. Children whose father or mother have type I diabetes are at risk of contracting the disease.

 
Aside from genetic predisposition to the disease, exposure to certain viral infection like mumps and coxsackie viruses can trigger the abnormal production of antibodies that attack the pancreas. Studies show that many patients who are suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus have high levels of anti-insulin antibodies, anti-islet cell antibodies and anti-glutamic decarboxylase antibodies. Experts believe that the production of these antibodies may have been triggers by viral infections.

While type I diabetes mellitus is linked to excessive production of antibodies, type II diabetes is often linked to obesity. According to studies, there is a direct relationship between obesity and type II diabetes mellitus. For every 20% increase over the ideal body weight, the chances of getting type diabetes II increase by about 200%. Both children and adults who are overweight are at risked of getting type II diabetes mellitus. However, older people tend have higher risk of getting the disease as compared to their younger counterparts. You see, age is a fact when it comes to this disease. According to experts, people who are already in their 40s and older, regardless of their weight, are at risk of suffering from diabetes. People who have family history of diabetes are also at risk of getting the disease especially

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