National Diabetes Month: Spotlight on Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an often misunderstood disease. This National Diabetes month, check out some facts about this condition that affects around 1.6 million Americans, including about 200,000 kids less than 20 years old.
Type 1 diabetes is also called juvenile diabetes because it only affects children.
False! Type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed at any age, and there is no cure, so it persists into adulthood.
True or False?
Type 1 diabetes is caused by lifestyle factors, like poor diet and not exercising.
False! Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, the hormone that controls blood-sugar levels. T1D develops when the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells are mistakenly destroyed by the body’s immune system. The cause of this attack is still being researched, however scientists believe the cause may have genetic and environmental components.
True or False?
Having type 1 diabetes means you can't eat any sugar.
False! People living with type 1 diabetes make adjustments to their insulin (either through a pump or shots) depending on how much sugar, or carbohydrate, they eat. This means that they are basically using their brain, science, math, and medicine to do the job that one of their other organs, their pancreas, is supposed to be doing for them.
True or False?
Right before someone is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, they may feel very thirsty and have to urinate a lot more than normal.
True! Their body is trying to use fluid to flush extra glucose out of the body. They may also experience feeling tired or irritable, a sudden increase in appetite, weight loss, or a fruity smell to their breath.
How many of these did you know?
Do you know anyone living with type 1 diabetes?
Facts from
https://www.jdrf.org/t1d-resources/about/facts/
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