Risk Factors of Diabetes Mellitus; a Review

Abstract

Diabetes comes from Greek, and it means a siphon. Aretus the Cappadocian, a Greek physician during the second century A.D., named the condition diabainein. He described patients who were passing too much water (polyuria) - like a siphon. The word became "diabetes" from the English adoption of the Medieval Latin diabetes. In 1675 Thomas Willis added mellitus to the term, although it is commonly referred to simply as diabetes. Mel in Latin means honey; the urine and blood of people with diabetes has excess glucose, and glucose is sweet like honey. Diabetes mellitus could literally mean "siphoning of sweet water". In ancient China people observed that ants would be attracted to some people's urine, because it was sweet. The term "Sweet Urine Disease" was coined.("Diabetes". World Health Organization. Retrieved 24 January 2011) Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is classed as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism refers to the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. Most of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar in the blood - it is the principal source of fuel for our bodies. When our food is digested the glucose makes its way into our bloodstream. Our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose cannot enter our cells without insulin being present - insulin makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose. ( BC Endocrine Research Foundation) Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. After eating, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in our blood into the cells, and lowers the blood sugar level. A person with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia). This is because the body does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements. [http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-types-insulin (Accessed 20th March 2013) So, Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood glucose and either insufficient or ineffective insulin. 5.9% of the population in the United States has diabetes, and diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in our country. Diabetes is a chronic disease without a cure, however, with proper management and treatment, diabetics can live a normal, healthy lives. Diabetes is a problem where our body makes but does not uses insulin or body can’t produce enough insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy. When diabetes occurs fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. As a result, blood sugar does not get into these cells to be stored for energy. When sugar cannot enter cells, high