Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease, causing sugar, or glucose, to build up in the blood. This accumulation can lead to medically dangerous complications. It occurs when the body either doesn’t produce or doesn’t use enough insulin.
There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes typically develops in children, though it occasionally presents in adulthood. Type 2 diabetes is commonly called adult-onset diabetes, and it can occur at any age, though it generally develops after the age of 45.