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About type 1 "juvenile" diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the least common – and most serious – form of diabetes. It is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys cells within the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone required to deliver blood sugar to the cells.

Type 1 diabetics must regularly monitor their blood sugar and adjust its levels through daily insulin injections, most commonly delivered with an insulin pump. Also known as juvenile diabetes, this life-threatening disease is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults.

Type 1 diabetes involves the complex interaction of many genes, with as many as 30 to 40 genes contributing to the disease.

Type 1 diabetes by the numbers

• Type 1 diabetes usually develops before age 30 and tends to come on suddenly.
• Most people with type 1 diabetes have no family history of the disease.
• There is no known method of preventing type 1 diabetes.
• The initial symptoms of type 1 diabetes occur suddenly and are very serious. They include excessive thirst and urination, dehydration, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dry or flushed skin, rapid breathing, abdominal pain and mental confusion.

Source: Johns Hopkins University