Juvenile Diabetes
Juvenile Diabetes And It's Sufferers
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition
caused by the body's inability to break down glucose (sugars) and store
them properly. When an individual's system is unable to process glucose
efficiently, it will be deposited in the person's bloodstream creating
all sorts of multiple health problems.
Juvenile
Diabetes (JD), also known as Type 1 Diabetes, is a medical condition in
which the pancreas does not make any insulin. Insulin is a hormone which
moves sugar from the bloodstream to the cells after digestion, so that
it can be used as energy. Insulin enables our body to convert the food
we eat into energy which is necessary to function normally. Since
individuals with juvenile diabetes produce no insulin at all, they need
to receive its injections to keep their blood sugar at appropriate
levels. Juvenile diabetes usually begins in childhood, as opposed to
Type 2 Diabetes, which ordinarily begins in adulthood, although with
obesity increasing among children, more Type 2 Diabetes is being
registered in that age group. As such, Type 1 Diabetes is called
Juvenile Diabetes as its onset happens in childhood.
Children
diagnosed with juvenile diabetes are insulin dependent. Current research
indicates that juvenile diabetes is an auto-immune disorder, similar to
other disorders such as, rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. A
small percentage of individuals may also develop thyroid conditions.
Kids who have diabetes look like everyone else. The only difference is
that their bodies do not make insulin anymore.
Nearly thirty
thousand individuals will be diagnosed with diabetes this year alone. It
is estimated that over one hundred and twenty million individuals suffer
from diabetes worldwide. And people suffering from Juvenile diabetes or
Type 1 diabetes form about 30 % to 40 % of the total.