Final answer:
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common form of diabetes and is usually caused by insulin resistance and sometimes impaired insulin secretion. It can be managed with lifestyle modifications and medications, but it can lead to severe complications if poorly controlled. The growing obesity epidemic has resulted in more diagnoses at younger ages.
Step-by-step explanation:
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder where the body shows insulin resistance, leading to high blood glucose levels. Unlike type 1 diabetes caused by lack of insulin due to autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing cells, type 2 diabetes typically develops when the body's cells become unresponsive to insulin. This is often due to genetic and environmental factors like obesity, inactivity, and dietary choices that may lead to or exacerbate insulin resistance and at times, impair insulin secretion. A condition known as metabolic syndrome, or pre-diabetes, is characterized by obesity and other factors that markedly increase the risk for developing diabetes.
As the most common form of diabetes, accounting for approximately 90% of cases, type 2 diabetes was traditionally considered an adult-onset disease. However, an uptick in childhood obesity has led to more frequent diagnoses in younger populations. Management of type 2 diabetes includes lifestyle changes, such as healthy diet and physical activity, which may improve insulin sensitivity. When these measures are unable to regulate blood glucose levels sufficiently, medications, and sometimes insulin injections become necessary. If not well managed, type 2 diabetes can lead to severe complications like heart attacks, blindness, and kidney failure.
Now there is a growing recognition of type 2 diabetes also being related to chronic inflammation, leading many scientists to classify it alongside autoimmune diseases.