Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body's system for fighting infection (the immune system) turns against a part of the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produces little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to live.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetes in the United States. It develops most often in children and young adults, but can appear at any age.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually develop over a short period, although beta cell destruction can begin years earlier.

Symptoms include:

• increased thirst and urination
• constant hunger
• weight loss
• blurred vision
• fatigue

If not diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person with type I diabetes can lapse into a life-threatening diabetic coma, also known as diabetic ketoacidosis.

Learn more about Pre-Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, or Gestational Diabetes.