Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus, disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone that helps the body';s tissues absorb glucose (sugar) so it can be used as a source of energy. The condition may also develop if muscle, fat, and liver cells respond poorly to insulin.

In people with diabetes, glucose levels build up in the blood and urine, causing excessive urination, thirst, hunger, and problems with fat and protein metabolism. Diabetes mellitus differs from the less common diabetes insipidus, which is caused by lack of the hormone vasopressin that controls the amount of urine secreted.

In the United States , about 17 million people (6 percent of the population) suffer from diabetes mellitus. Every year, about 1 million people learn they have the disease.


Diabetes mellitus kills over 400,000 U.S. residents each year, and it is the sixth leading cause of all deaths caused by disease. In Canada , more than 2.2 million residents (7 percent of the population) have diabetes mellitus, and the disease contributes to more than 25,000 deaths a year.

Diabetes is most common in adults over 45 years of age; in people who are overweight or physically inactive; in individuals who have an immediate family member with diabetes; and in people of African, Hispanic, and Native American descent. The highest rate of diabetes in the world occurs in Native Americans. More women than men have been diagnosed with the disease.

Insulin Secretion This light micrograph of a section of the human pancreas shows one of the islets of Langerhans, center, a group of modified glandular cells. These cells secrete insulin, a hormone that helps the body metabolize sugars, fats, and starches. The blue and white lines in the islets of Langerhans are blood vessels that carry the insulin to the rest of the body. Insulin deficiency causes diabetes mellitus, a disease that affects at least 10 million people in the United States.Photo Researchers, Inc./Astrid and Hanns-Frieder Michler.

In diabetes mellitus low insulin levels prevent cells from absorbing glucose. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood. When glucose-laden blood passes through the kidneys, the organs that remove blood impurities, the kidneys cannot absorb all of the excess glucose.

This excess glucose spills into the urine, accompanied by water and electrolytes-ions required by cells to regulate the electric charge and flow of water molecules across the cell membrane. This causes frequent urination to get rid of the additional water drawn into the urine; excessive thirst to trigger replacement of lost water; and hunger to replace the glucose lost in urination. Additional symptoms may include blurred vision, dramatic weight loss, irritability, weakness and fatigue, and nausea and vomiting.

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