Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by staying at a normal weight, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet (high in fruits and vegetables and low in sugar and saturated fats).[1]
Treatment involves exercise and dietary changes.[1] If blood sugar levels are not adequately lowered, the medication metformin is typically recommended.[7][14] Many people may eventually also require insulin injections.[9] In those on insulin, routinely checking blood sugar levels (such as through a continuous glucose monitor) is advised; however, this may not be needed in those who are not on insulin therapy.[15]Bariatric surgery often improves diabetes in those who are obese.[8][16]
Rates of type 2 diabetes have increased markedly since 1960 in parallel with obesity.[17] As of 2015, there were approximately 392 million people diagnosed with the disease compared to around 30 million in 1985.[11][18] Typically, it begins in middle or older age,[6] although rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing in young people.[19][20] Type 2 diabetes is associated with a ten-year-shorter life expectancy.[10] Diabetes was one of the first diseases ever described, dating back to an Egyptian manuscript from c. 1500BCE.[21] The importance of insulin in the disease was determined in the 1920s.[22]
^ abcdefghijCite error: The named reference WHO2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abFasanmade OA, Odeniyi IA, Ogbera AO (June 2008). "Diabetic ketoacidosis: diagnosis and management". African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences. 37 (2): 99–105. PMID18939392.
^ abcdefg"Causes of Diabetes". National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
^ abMaruthur NM, Tseng E, Hutfless S, Wilson LM, Suarez-Cuervo C, Berger Z, et al. (June 2016). "Diabetes Medications as Monotherapy or Metformin-Based Combination Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis". Annals of Internal Medicine. 164 (11): 740–51. doi:10.7326/M15-2650. PMID27088241. S2CID32016657.
^Moscou S (2013). "Getting the word out: advocacy, social marketing, and policy development and enforcement". In Truglio-Londrigan M, Lewenson SB (eds.). Public health nursing: practicing population-based care (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 317. ISBN978-1-4496-4660-8. OCLC758391750.