What is diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition affecting around 1 in 500 children and young people. Type 1 diabetes is not caused by eating too many sweets or an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact there is nothing you have done to cause it or could have done to prevent it. The majority of children and young people with diabetes have type 1, less than 5% have type 2 diabetes or other rarer forms.
Most reports online or through the media focus on type 2 diabetes and not type 1 which can be confusing. Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition caused by your immune system attacking itself and destroys the insulin producing cells, beta cells.
Our bodies cannot function without insulin. We rely on insulin to take glucose from our blood into body cells to give us energy. Children and young people with diabetes need to get insulin via pumps or pens.
The cause of diabetes remains unknown, but we are involved in many research projects, focusing both on improving the life of children and young people with diabetes and prevention.
Type 2 Diabetes is a condition where insulin secretion is impaired. It is becoming increasingly common in young people and treatment is variable but may include lifestyle changes, tablets or insulin. The diabetes team in Manchester is very experienced in type 2 diabetes and will support you with your required treatment option. Other types of diabetes are also treated here at Manchester. Although rarer than type 1 and type 2 we do have experience in managing more complex forms of this condition.
