Early Signs of Diabetes: What to Look Out For

What is type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body either can’t produce enough of the hormone insulin or your body’s cells no longer respond effectively to insulin (this is called insulin resistance).

Insulin is a hormone produced by cells in your pancreas called beta cells. When you eat a meal or have a sugary drink, your gut breaks down what you have consumed. The sugar glucose is produced as part of this process. Glucose is absorbed through your gut and enters your bloodstream.

Your body detects that your blood sugar (glucose) levels have risen and consequently, your pancreas releases insulin into your blood. Insulin instructs your cells to take up the glucose in your blood. Once glucose is inside your cells, it is either used for energy or stored. This brings down your blood glucose levels.

In type 2 diabetes, blood glucose levels remain raised. Left untreated, persistently high levels of blood glucose damage various tissues and organs in your body. This includes your nerves, kidneys, eyes, heart, blood vessels and feet.

The difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes develops slowly, over many years and is more common in adults. However, in recent years, the incidence of type 2 diabetes in young people and children has risen.

In addition to your genetics, a major factor that contributes to developing type 2 diabetes is your lifestyle, specifically following an unhealthy diet high in sugar and a lack of regular exercise.

In contrast, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition. This is where your body mistakenly attacks its own cells. In the case of type 1 diabetes, your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. This completely stops the production of insulin.

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children before age 15. Most often, type 1 diabetes is diagnosed between the ages of 6 months to 5 years or 10–14 years.

What are the first signs of diabetes?

In the early stages of type 2 diabetes, there are often no initial indicators, or the early signs are so subtle that they go unnoticed.

Being aware of the early indicators of diabetes can help you recognise them so you can seek help sooner.

The earliest common symptoms of diabetes include:

blurry vision
feeling more thirsty than usual
feeling more tired than usual
itchy genitals and genital thrush (a yeast infection of the genitals)
unintentional weight loss
urinating more often, especially at night

You may also notice that cuts and wounds take longer to heal. This is because diabetes damages your blood vessels and can reduce blood supply to your tissues. Consequently, the nutrients needed for healing are delivered more slowly to wounds.

Gender differences: diabetes in men vs women

Early signs of diabetes in women are broadly the same as early signs of diabetes in men. However, women are more likely to develop urinary tract infections (UTIs) and genital yeast infections (vaginal thrush). Men, on the other hand, are more likely to gradually lose muscle mass.

Complications of type 2 diabetes

If your diabetes is left untreated, different organs and tissues in your body can be permanently damaged. This can lead to:

diabetic nephropathy — this refers to damage to the kidneys, which can lead to kidney failure
diabetic retinopathy — this refers to damage to the light-sensitive tissue of the eye (retina), leading to permanent loss of vision
diabetic neuropathy — this refers to damage to the nerves, often in the periphery of the body; it can cause numbness, weakness and pain in the legs, feet and hands

Diabetes also increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke. It increases the risk of certain cancers too, including bowel cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer and breast cancer.

Risk factors for diabetes

You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you:

are overweight or obese — obesity contributes 80–85% of the total risk for developing type 2 diabetes
are of Asian, African or Afro-Caribbean descent — your risk of developing diabetes is 2–4 times higher if you belong to any one of these ethnicities when compared to Caucasian people
have a family history of diabetes — if one of your parents has type 2 diabetes, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes is 15%; this rises to 75% if both of your parents have type 2 diabetes
lead a sedentary lifestyle

Additional risk factors for women include:

having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
having gestational diabetes — this increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes after birth by around 7 times

Get your health back on track

If you’re concerned that you may have undiagnosed diabetes, a health check at Vista Health can help you get the clarity you need.

As part of your full body health screening, you will receive targeted blood tests, including a test for Hb1Ac.

The Hb1Ac test measures your average blood glucose levels for the past 2–3 months. It does this by measuring the amount of glycated haemoglobin in your blood. Haemoglobin is found in your red blood cells. It becomes glycated when there is too much sugar in your blood.

Your Hb1Ac results can help your doctor determine whether you:

are not currently at risk of diabetes
have prediabetes and are, therefore, are at high risk of developing diabetes
have diabetes

If you want to find out your risk of developing diabetes and get expert advice to help you lead a healthier life, book your health check with Vista Health today.

Sources

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-diabetes/type-2-diabetes/symptoms

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-us/about-the-charity/our-strategy/statistics

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Diabetes-in-Men-versus-Women.aspx

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/diabetes-type-2/background-information/risk-factors/