Diabetes Mellitus: Definition, Types, Diagnosis, Management, Pathophysiology, Complications

Health Professional Essentials 1
Health Professional Essentials
Name:
Course:
Professor’s name:
University name:
City, state:
Date of Submission:

Health Professional Essentials 2
Health Professional Essentials
1. Definition
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition caused by inability of the pancrease to secret
sufficient insulin or the insensitivity of the body cells to insulin produced by the pancrease
characterized by high concentration of blood sugar (WHO 2014, P.2). On the other hand,
diabetes insipidus is a condition caused by lack of secretion of Antideuretic Hormone by the
pituitary gland leading to inability of the kidney nephron to reabsorb water characterized by
production of large volumes of dilute urine.
2. Types of Diabetes Mellitus
Individuals with diabetes mellitus are categorized as Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic persons.
The basis of classification of diabetes mellitus is insulin dependence. That is, type 1 diabetes id
caused by failure of the pancrease to secret insulin while type 2 diabetes is caused by inability of
the body cells to respond to insulin secreted by the pancrease (WHO 2014, P.3).
3. Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes Mellitus
Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is based o WHO recommendations. An individual is
diagnosed as diabetic when the two consecutive glucose measurements are established to be
above 126mg/dl (WHO 2016, p.6). Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition that has no cure.
Instead, the condition is managed by maintaining blood glucose levels close to normal. The
condition has three main routes of treatment. Firstly, non-pharmacological treatment involves
physical exercise and proper nutrition (Haw, Galaviz, and Straus 2017, p.1811). Physical
exercise assists in breakdown of excess glucose while proper nutrition entails management of

Health Professional Essentials 3
level of cholesterol intake in the diet. Diabetes mellitus can also be treated through medication.
Particularly, type 1 diabetes is treated through injection of insulin which stimulates the
absorption of excess glucose from the blood to body cells (Rotella, Pala, and Mannucci, p.141).
On the other hand, type 2 diabetes mellitus is treated through oral medication such as
administration of metformin. Finally, diabetes mellitus is treated through surgical operation
especially for type 2 diabetic individuals who are suffering from obesity (Picot, Jones, Colquitt,
and Clegg 2016, p.227)
4. Pathophysiology
Insulin is the principal hormone that controls metabolism of glucose and fats. As a result,
insulin deficiency or insensitivity to secreted insulin causes impairment in the metabolism of fats
and glucose causing increase in concentration of blood sugar to abnormal levels (American
Diabetes Association 2014, p.131). There are three principal sources of blood including intestinal
absorption, breakdown of glycogen, and breakdown of non-carbohydrates such as fats (Shoback
and Gadner 2015, p.335). Increase in the level of glucose arising from any of the highlighted
sources causes stimulation of the beta cells of pancrease to secrete insulin hormone. The
secretion of this hormone results in the absorption of blood glucose into body cells as well as
conversion of excess glucose into glycogen and fats for storage. Insufficient insulin or intensity
of the pancreatic cells causes failure of absorption of glucose from the blood. As a consequence,
the concentration of blood glucose increases to abnormal levels. Metabolism of fats is also
significantly impaired as a result of deficiency in insulin. Particularly, insufficient insulin causes
a failure in absorption and consequent conversion of glucose into fats.