The World Health Organisation has the following definition of Type 1 diabetes- "a condition of deficiency of insulin secretion from the pancreas, usually due to auto-immune damage of the insulin producing cells. However the clinical condition is generally recognised on the basis of diabetes (high blood glucose levels) occurring in mainly younger and thinner people in the absence of other precipitating causes."
Insulin is used by the body to move glucose from the blood to the cells where it is broken down into energy. Insulin is normally produced by the pancreas which is a gland situated behind the stomach.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin. People with type 1 diabetes will need treatment for the rest of their lives. This type of diabetes will require them to check the levels of glucose in their blood and to watch out for complications.
High levels of glucose in the blood can, over time, damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body and can increase the risk of eye, blood vessel, nerve and kidney diseases.
Type 1 diabetes often develops in the teenage years and usually before the age of forty. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-15% of all people with diabetes. It has been estimated that by 2010 there will be between 300,000 and 450,000 people with type 1 Diabetes in the UK.
The Mayo clinic says "With proper treatment, people who have type 1 diabetes can expect to live long, healthy lives".
