Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most severe form of diabetes. This is because type 1 diabetes mellitus causes beta cells in the pancreas to be destroyed due to an autoimmune process.
As a result, the body cannot produce the hormone insulin, whose job is to help process glucose (sugar) as energy.
When the body does not have enough insulin, the sugar that enters the body cannot be absorbed completely, so it accumulates in the blood. This condition causes high blood sugar levels, which result in many short-term and long-term complications.
Type 1 diabetes is also known by other terms, namely insulin-dependent diabetes and juvenile diabetes.
Insulin-dependent diabetes is an expression to describe the condition of type 1 diabetes mellitus patients, who are highly dependent on insulin.
Meanwhile, juvenile diabetes is an expression that means that type 1 diabetes is a disease that often occurs in children aged 4–7 years, and adolescents aged 10–14 years, although it does not rule out the possibility of occurring at any age.
Genetic or hereditary factors are known to trigger factors for type 1 diabetes. If a family member has type 1 diabetes, your or other family member’s risk of developing this disease increases.
Symptoms
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes can appear suddenly, such as:
1. Excessive thirst
2. Frequent urination
3. Bedwetting, even though you haven’t wet the bed before
4. Very Hungry
5. Unintentional weight loss
6. Irritability, and mood swings
7. Weak and easily tired
8. Blurred vision
Reason
There are 2 underlying causes of type 1 diabetes mellitus, namely genes and environmental factors.
Genetic
Diabetic conditions caused by genetics are usually accompanied by other autoimmune conditions, for example in IPEX syndrome (Immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked).
Other early research shows that HLA on certain chromosomes will affect the production of the protein glutamate decarboxylase which acts on the immune system so that immune system cells will destroy beta cells (insulin) found in the pancreas.
Mutations of other genes such as lymphoid protein tyrosine phosphatase (LYP) lead to a lower threshold of peripheral T cells leading to autoreactive T cells during the development of the thymus gland.
For this reason, type 1 diabetes mellitus is often associated with heredity, if both parents or siblings have the gene for carrying type 1 diabetes.
Environment
The environmental factor often associated with type 1 diabetes is exposure to several viruses, for example, coxsackie virus and rotavirus. Not only that, it is suspected that bacteria can also be one of the causes of type 1 diabetes, one of which is Mycobacterium Avium which is a subspecies of paratuberculosis (MAP).
In addition, there are other predisposing factors that can cause type 1 diabetes, namely the albumin component in cow’s milk, gluten wheat proteins which are closely related to celiac disease, and vitamin D deficiency.
The results of other studies also show that the farther a person lives from the equator or the equator, the higher the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Not only that, type 1 diabetes generally attacks all ages, but it is more prone to occur in children and is often found especially at the age of 4-14 years.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is established by checking blood sugar levels at the time of the month, checking fasting blood sugar levels, or checking blood sugar levels 3 during the last month (HbA1c).
After diabetes is diagnosed, the patient then tests for auto-antibodies and ketones in the urine to determine the type of diabetes, whether type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Complications
In cases of type 1 diabetes that are not controlled in the long term, patients will experience complications in the form of:
- Diabetic retinopathy, or disorders of the retina of the eye.
- Neuropathy, or nervous disorders.
- Poor blood circulation.
- Nephropathy, which is a cause of kidney failure and heart disease.
- Coma, to death.
Treatment
Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with insulin injections, applying the 3Js (Schedule, Amount, Type) to your daily diet, and exercising regularly. The goal of this procedure is to control blood sugar and prevent complications from type 1 diabetes.
Patients are also advised to check their blood sugar levels regularly, either using the method of checking blood sugar levels during fasting, checking fasting blood sugar levels, or checking blood sugar levels during the last month (HbA1c).