A form of diabetes in which destruction or loss of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells results in an absolute or near-absolute deficiency of insulin.
Type 1 diabetes is most often caused by an autoimmune process that destroys pancreatic beta cells, although less common non-autoimmune forms also occur. Without sufficient insulin, glucose cannot be properly regulated and accumulates in the blood.
People with type 1 diabetes require insulin replacement to survive. It can develop at any age, although it commonly begins during childhood or adolescence.
QUICK FACT
Type 1 diabetes is not caused simply by eating too much sugar, and it can occur in people of any body size.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Type 2 diabetes: primarily involves insulin resistance combined with progressive impairment of insulin secretion, rather than the near-complete loss of insulin production characteristic of type 1 diabetes.
- Diabetes: the broader disease category that includes type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and other forms.
SEE ALSO