Type 2 Diabetes - Non-insulin dependent diabetes (Also known as NIDDM)
NIDDM is the type of diabetes most people think of when diabetes comes to mind. It is common, usually runs in families and is associated with obesity and a sedentary life style, and occurs in later life. Most of these impressions are correct. NIDDM accounts for 90-95% of all the diabetes in the community.
An unusual variant occurs in younger people, below age 20, which is related to a limited number of cellular genetic defects which interfere with the liver handling glucose or with the way insulin works.
Studies on the common variety of Type 2 Diabetes suggest that two basic defects in body function cause this disorder:
- Resistance of the body to the action of insulin
- An abnormality in the way the pancreas senses nutrients and its insulin stores.