SYMPTOMS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES

An increasingly common disease today, type 2 diabetes mainly affects people over 40 years of age. More common than insulin-resistant diabetes (type 1, also characterized by hyperglycemia, i.e. excess sugar in the blood), type 2 diabetes is also known as “non-insulin dependent diabetes” (IDDM).

What are the symptoms of type 2 diabetes? How to detect and treat this type of diabetes, the most common today?

A sedentary lifestyle, malnutrition and obesity are today among the main factors at the origin of this disease. Longer and more difficult to diagnose, type 2 diabetes can unfortunately cause serious complications.

 

So what exactly is type 2 diabetes? What are the risk factors and causes of this disease? How to recognize the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and avoid any complications?

 

What is diabetes ?

Disorder of assimilation, use and storage of sugars, diabetes results in chronic hyperglycemia . A person with diabetes has too much sugar in the blood and too high a blood sugar level.

Principle of operation and onset of diabetes

The fats, proteins and carbohydrates in food provide the energy the human body needs to function. After being ingested, these nutrients pass through the intestine and then into the blood. After a meal, the amount of sugar in the blood increases (carbohydrates are transformed into glucose). To regulate this blood sugar level, the pancreas then secretes a hormone. Insulin helps transport, enter and store sugar in muscle and liver cells, so that it can then be processed and used when needed (a drop in blood sugar, a drop in energy …). Without insulin, blood sugar levels remain too high, which can cause some damage.

 

Type 2 diabetes or “fatty diabetes” decreases the effectiveness of insulin. Muscle and liver cells become insulin resistant : they are no longer sensitive enough to this hormone. Blood sugar levels therefore remain high after a meal, even as the pancreas secretes more and more insulin. He eventually wears out and only secretes very little insulin. The blood sugar level remains continuously high, which aggravates diabetes.

Difference Between Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

If they do not generally appear at the same age, the symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are similar. If they are both characterized by an excess of sugar in the blood , the most common remains type 2 diabetes. A study by INSERM estimates that 5% of the French population is affected by this type of diabetes today. today.

 

Discovered quickly in young patients (children, adolescents or young adults), type 1 diabetes was previously known as insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD).

An autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes results from the destruction of pancreatic beta cells and a total insulin deficiency: the cells are destroyed by the body itself. Type 1 diabetes results in the appearance of intense thirst, abundant urine and rapid weight loss. Treatment involves insulin injections with a pen or syringe, or the implantation of an insulin pump, which releases the hormone continuously.

 

Type 2 diabetes is caused by environmental and socio-cultural factors , such as physical inactivity or malnutrition.

The causes of type 2 diabetes

If there is a genetic factor favoring the onset of type 2 diabetes, the causes of this disease are still poorly understood. It occurs more often in people:

- aged 45 and over ;

- overweight or obese (with abdominal fat, or metabolic syndrome);

- sedentary ;

- with a family history of type 2 diabetes.

 

However, we are beginning to diagnose type 2 diabetes in more and more young children and adolescents in France.

 

Lack of physical activity and poor diet are often singled out. A diet that is too sweet, too rich in saturated fatty acids (red meat, butter, cheese, etc.) and too low in fiber seems to favor the onset of type 2 diabetes. The number of type 2 diabetes diagnosed each year increases by more than 5% .

During pregnancy, pregnant women can develop gestational diabetes . If this type of diabetes disappears completely after childbirth, it can nevertheless be at the origin of the appearance of type 2 diabetes thereafter.

 

Type 2 diabetes: symptoms and risks

More difficult to diagnose than type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes develops asymptomatically (the hyperglycemia caused by the disease is in fact not visible). The disease can go unnoticed for a long time , and several years can pass between the first hyperglycaemias and the diagnosis.

 

How to recognize type 2 diabetes?

The main symptom for detecting type 2 diabetes is hyperglycemia, appearing after taking sugar. A simple blood test can easily measure blood sugar levels . However, type 2 diabetes usually takes a long time to diagnose and its physical symptoms can remain silent for several years.

 

The main symptoms of type 2 diabetes are:

- an increase in thirst : prolonged hyperglycemia leads to a disturbance of the osmotic balance of the body, and therefore an increase in the feeling of thirst;

- an increase in urination : to try to eliminate the sugar contained in the blood, the kidneys filter more blood, which increases the need for water and, therefore, the need to urinate;

- an increase in hunger : the cells no longer receive enough sugar and lack energy, which has the effect of triggering a feeling of intense hunger;

- asthenia, or a great feeling of fatigue : the body's cells no longer receive enough glucose and lack energy;

- blurred vision or sight problems;

- dry skin , itchy genitals, gum infections . Type 2 diabetes can also cause urinary symptoms ;

- unexplained weight loss ;

- muscle cramps , painful sensations , tingling or numbness in the hands and feet;

- erectile dysfunction ;

- an area of ​​dark skin : some patients with type 2 diabetes have dark spots in the folds of the skin, often on the neck and armpits;

- frequent infections and difficulty healing .

 

A blood test may also reveal high triglyceride levels and abnormally low “good cholesterol” (HDL cholesterol) levels. Tension ( blood pressure) may also be abnormally high.

Complications of Diabetes

Hyperglycaemia caused by diabetes can cause damage to blood vessels, nerves, heart and kidneys, which can cause:

• blindness ( when the small blood vessels of the retina and lens are affected);

• foot injuries leading to amputations (type 2 diabetes can indeed cause foot symptoms);

• heart attacks , poor circulation in the arteries, strokes ;

• kidney failure (which may lead to dialysis );

• dizziness and episodes of confusion , even a coma ;

• …

 

To avoid these complications, type 2 diabetes must be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

 

Diagnostic

To make a diagnosis, several tests must be carried out. A blood test on an empty stomach (8 hours minimum) makes it possible to measure the level of sugar in the blood (glycaemia). If on two occasions, the fasting blood sugar is equal to or greater than 1.26g/l (or 7 mmol/l) , the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can be established.

 

Your attending physician then performs several additional examinations :

• physical exams :

- measurement of weight and height;

- calculation of the BMI (body mass index);

- examination of the heart, measurement of pulse and blood pressure;

- neurological examination;

- …

• a biological assessment :

- measurement of the level of fats in the blood (cholesterolemia);

- dosage of glycated hemoglobin (or HbA1c), which reflects blood sugar levels over the last three months;

- analysis of renal function;

- …

 

Other additional examinations may be prescribed. An ophthalmological examination (fundus of the eye) makes it possible to detect possible damage to the blood vessels of the retina, the onset of cataracts or glaucoma.

 

Treatment of type 2 diabetes

Once the diagnosis is made, the patient with type 2 diabetes must begin by quickly adopting a new lifestyle . With or without the help of a dietitian or nutritionist, the patient's diet should be reviewed. It must be more varied and balanced : less sweet, less fatty and richer in fiber (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, etc.). Fast sugars and snacking must be completely eliminated. A low-calorie diet can be put in place, so that the patient loses weight quickly.

 

The patient must also practice a regular sporting activity (at least 30 minutes, three times a week) and succeed in maintaining his ideal weight.

 

Oral antidiabetic treatments or insulin injections can then be put in place. However, these treatments are only effective if they are combined with more sustained physical activity and a healthy, balanced diet.