Articles

Diabetes Mellitus: A Leading Cause of Death Worldwide

Diabetes mellitus, or commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia which results in insulin resistance, impaired insulin synthesis, or sometimes both. Diabetes affects roughly 400 million people worldwide and the majority being those who are from middle to low income countries. With 1.5 million diabetes related deaths worldwide each year, this literature review aims to give information about the 2 types of diabetes and also highlighting the appropriate preventative measures. Type 1 diabetes refers to the lack of insulin production and type 2 diabetes refers to lower production of insulin and increased insulin resistance; both will result in hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. Furthermore, this literature review also aims to explore and describe the pathogenesis and treatments of the 2 types of diabetes.