With diabetes rates on the rise all over the globe, tension between some people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes is growing, according to a recent article from the Chicago Tribune. It has gotten so bad, in fact, that some people with Type 1 diabetes are lobbying for a new name for the disease in order to clear up confusions and misconceptions between the two forms of the disease.
Many people with Type 1, according to the article, are frustrated that strangers and acquaintances often accuse them of contributing to their disease by eating too much sugar or maintaining a poor lifestyle or diet. While the exact cause of Type 1 diabetes is unknown, most believe a combination of genetics and environmental factors contribute to the disease. One thing is for sure, they didn’t do anything to bring the disease on themselves.
Others expressed frustration with the public’s coverage of the diseases, such as Oprah Winfrey’s episode on the epidemic called “preventing diabetes” and featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz. Critics say the episode didn’t differentiate between the diseases or note that only Type 2s have the possibility of reversing the disease. Type 1s do not. They say misinformation, or information presented in a certain light, do a disservice to public awareness.
Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called “adult-onset diabetes” is characterized by insulin resistance. In other words, the patient’s body produces insulin, the hormone needed to control sugar levels in the blood, but doesn’t use it efficiently. Risk factors for this form of the disease include obesity, poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. With many, it can be controlled by exercise, diet and/ or medication.
Type 1, formerly known as “juvenile diabetes,” is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells. People with Type 1 no longer produce insulin and must inject it into their body in order to stay alive and keep complications at bay. In the past, the lines between Type 1 and Type 2 were crystal clear, but in more recent years an increasing number of adults have been diagnosed with Type 1, while a growing number of children develop Type 2.
Type 2 makes up about 90% of all cases of diabetes, but the diseases are often lumped together since they both involve insulin and the pancreas. This has led many people with Type 1 diabetes to grow frustrated at the lack of understanding of the disease and the confusing stemming from that lack of understanding.
“When the two types are lumped together, it’s hard for organizations committed to finding a cure to Type 1 to really get funded,” said diabetes educator Riva Greenberg, to the Tribune. She is the author of ‘50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life.’ “If policymakers don’t understand the difference between the two — they are thinking people need to move more and eat less — it’s going to be hard to help cure Type 1.”Greenberg suggests changing the name of Type 1 diabetes to “betasin,” short for “isn’t it a sin my beta cells gave up?” or simply shortening Diabetes Mellitus, the disease’s full name to simply “mellitus.”
On the flip side, many people with Type 2 diabetes say they are the ones who are the victims of a misinformed public, including people with Type 1 diabetes. Many times, people with Type 2 are told they are directly responsible for their development of Type 2. While diet, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to Type 2 diabetes, many slim, active individuals with a healthy diet are stunned to learn they have Type 2 diabetes. There is a genetic component to Type 2 diabetes that cannot be ignored.
Aside from the social stigmas associated with the two diseases, competition for research funding is another avenue for tension. There are three times as many clinical trials for Type 2 diabetes drugs and cures than Type 1. With industry-sponsored trials, that ratio grows to 5:1 in favor of Type 2.
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I am a Type I and I am one of those who would like to see a name change. I used to watch Dr Oz but, after the show on diabetes I lost my desire to continue watching the show. It’s very frustrating when shows like these don’t distingish the differences in diabetes. Now, it’s even harder for us to explain to the public the differences between the the two. Not to mention the competion on funding.
One more item: The percentage of type 1’s to type 2’s is decreasing due to more late life type 2’s projected to get the disease. This is going to make it even harder for type 1’s to get funding.
[...] As a person with diabetes, it is not uncommon to encounter someone without the disease offering up their ignorant opinion on how to “fix” it or why I got it. However, even more astonishing is the behavior I have encountered from some within the diabetic community. (See Tensions Rising Between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetics: Report) [...]