Patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus have insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. Many of them don’t require insulin injections. These patients account for about 90% of all patients with diabetes. In the United States, Type 2 diabetes affects more women than men, more African-Americans than whites, and more people with low incomes and limited education. Previously called adult-onset diabetes, Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over age 35.
Patients with Type 2 diabetes aren’t prone to DKA, but like those with Type 1 diabetes, they’re at risk for developing vascular complications. Because the signs and
symptoms of Type 2 diabetes develop over time, the disease may go unnoticed for many years.
The cause of Type 2 diabetes isn’t known. As with Type 1 diabetes, genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers, such as viruses, seem to playa role. However, there’s no evidence that autoimmunity or islet cell antibodies play any role.
Severe obesity significantly increases a patient’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Other risk factors include age, a sedentary lifestyle, a highfat diet, stress, and a family history of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs more commonly in women who have been pregnant more than once and who have a history of gestational diabetes. Also, it commonly appears in the children of women who develop gestational diabetes.