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Introduction
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Diabetes Mellitus (DM) / Diabetes is a syndrome resulting from increased glucose levels in the blood which occurs due to decreased insulin levels.
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Diabetes, if not specified, usually refers to Diabetes Mellitus or Type 1/2 Diabetes.
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The other type of diabetes, known as Diabetes Insipidus, occurs due to deficient production of Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH) from the kidneys.
Diabetes can be classified into:
Type 1 diabetes (due to absolute insulin deficiency) / earlier called as “Juvenile onset diabetes”
Type 2 diabetes (due to insulin resistance) / earlier called as “Adult onset diabetes”
Other specific types:
- Gestational diabetes mellitus
- Maturity Onset Diabetes of Young (MODY)
- Diabetes associated with genetic defects in insulin secretion and/or beta cell function
- Diabetes associated with genetic syndromes
- Drug or chemical induced
- Infection induced
- Immune mediated
- Diseases of the pancreas
- Endocrinopathies
Epidemiology:
The worldwide occurrence of diabetes (esp. type 2) has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades with figures crossing 177 million in the year 2000. This is mostly due to dependence on better lifestyle facilities, faulty eating habits and reduced exercise. Hence, Diabetes is included in the “Lifestyle Diseases” group.
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