Diabetes Mellitus: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Latest Research (2025)

Introduction

Just think how you would feel if you went to a doctor and the doctor told you that from today onwards you should not eat sugar and eat very little salt and gave you some medicine and told you that you have to take this medicine for the rest of your life. Something similar happens in diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases these days, affecting millions of people worldwide. This disease is caused by high blood sugar levels and can create serious complications if not treated.

What is Diabetes Mellitus?

In simple words, diabetes mellitus is a condition when the sugar level in our blood becomes too high due to the insulin in our body becoming less or our body not being able to use insulin properly. Insulin is a substance made by the pancreas that helps change sugar into energy. Our body uses this energy to work properly. In diabetes mellitus, the body either stops making insulin or makes very little of it. Because of this, the sugar in our blood cannot be changed into energy, and the amount of sugar in the blood keeps increasing.
Some studies show that approximately 537 million people have diabetes mellitus worldwide.
Do you know that your high blood sugar can damage your kidneys? If you don’t, let me tell you: these days, the reality is that 1 out of every 3 people with diabetes develops kidney disease.
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Causes and Risk Factors of Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is the silent killer you must understand. Several factors can increase the risk of developing diabetes mellitus:

Non-modifiable risk Factors

🧬 Genetics: Family history plays a significant role in diabetes. If your family (father, mother, and grandparents) has a history of diabetes, there is a higher chance of having diabetes mellitus.

🎂 Age: Risk increases with age, especially after 45 years. After a certain age, insulin production decreases and other factors come into play.

🪢 Hormonal Imbalances: Certain conditions like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) can increase the risk of diabetes mellitus.

Modifiable risk Factors

🥴 Obesity and Physical Inactivity: Extra body fat can lead to insulin resistance. Physical activity is very important to digest food and convert it into energy. If you are inactive, your body’s energy requirements decrease, and your body stores fat from food.

🍔 Poor Diet: Excess sugar and processed foods increase the risk of diabetes mellitus. There is a limited supply of insulin in our body; it can’t handle excessive sugar.

Types of Diabetes Mellitus

Type 1 – Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus:

A condition when body insulin production decreased and sometimes stopped. This happened when the body’s immune system attacked insulin-producing cells. This is also called insulin-dependent diabetes. Type 1 diabetes affects only about 5 to 10% of people with diabetes.

Type 2 – Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus:

Type 2 diabetes used to be called non-insulin-dependent. In this condition the body makes insulin but cannot utilize it properly, and sometimes the body creates resistance to insulin. It has become more common in children and teens over the past 10 to 20 years because more young people are overweight or obese. About 90% of people with diabetes have type 2.

Gestational Diabetes:

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy in women who did not have diabetes previously. It is characterized by high blood sugar levels that can affect both the mother and the baby. While it often resolves after delivery, it increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

💡💡💡 Insulin: Insulin was first discovered by Banting in 1921. It was first obtained in pure crystalline form in 1926, and the chemical structure was fully worked out in 1956 by Sanger. Insulin is a hormone produced by the β-cells of the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Symptoms and Warning Signs

· Feel hunger quickly after having food.
· Unexplained weight loss.
· Frequent urination
· Feeling thirsty soon after drinking water.
· Fatigue
· Blurred vision sometimes.
· Slow healing of sores and wounds.

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💡 Tip: Many people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms initially. Regular health checkups are necessary for early detection.
👉 Pre-diabetes: When your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. At this stage, you can control your blood glucose level by making lifestyle changes. Patient with fasting sugar between 100 and 125.

Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus

Your doctor will ask about your family medical history (if there are any diabetes cases in your family) and symptoms. The following tests are usually performed to diagnose diabetes:

Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1C) Test

Measures the average blood glucose level for the past two to three months.
Normal: < 5.7%
Prediabetes: 5.7% – 6.4%
Diabetes: ≥ 6.7%
You can do this test at home with the help of a Hemoglobin Test Kit.

Fasting Glucose Test

Determines fasting blood sugar levels; performed in the morning before breakfast.
Normal: < 100 mg/dL
Prediabetic: 100 – 125 mg/dL
Diabetic: > 125 mg/dL
You can do this test at home with the help of a glucometer.

Click here to learn more about these tests.

Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)

You fast overnight, and fasting blood sugar is measured. Then, after drinking a glucose-rich drink, blood sugar levels are measured after two hours.

Treatment Options for Diabetes Mellitus

Managing diabetes involves a very important factor, which is lifestyle changes, blood sugar monitoring, and medication:

Lifestyle Changes

👉 Healthy diet: Focus on high-fiber foods, whole grains, lean proteins, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.
👉 Regular exercise: At least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week and walk at least 500 steps after every meal.
👉 Weight management: Maintaining a healthy weight reduces insulin resistance and helps control blood sugar levels.

Monitoring

Regularly check blood glucose levels to manage diabetes effectively. You can use a glucometer for testing your blood glucose level at home.

Medications

👉 Type 1 Diabetes: Insulin injections are necessary to control blood glucose levels.

👉 Type 2 Diabetes: Oral medications, non-insulin injectables, or insulin therapy may be prescribed. Metformin (Glumetza, Fortamet, etc.) is the most common medicine prescribed by the doctor for type 2 diabetes.

Prevention Tips

👉 Healthy Diet: Eat whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. Avoid processed foods, sweets, and sugary drinks.

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👉 Regular Exercise: At least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days, and walk 500 steps after every meal.
👉 Weight Management: If overweight, losing 7% of body weight can significantly lower the risk. You can measure your weight at home with a digital weighing scale.
👉 Medication/Insulin: Take as prescribed by your doctor.
Regular Monitoring: Keep track of blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Latest Research in Diabetes Mellitus (2025)

Sr. No.	Area	Highlights	Reference
1.	Cell-based therapies	Alpha‑to‑beta conversion, iPSC‑derived islet transplants, regenerative medicine	1. Forbes (2025) 2. MedNewsPedia (2025)
2.	Smart insulins	Glucose‑responsive molecules to avoid hypoglycemia	1. Wikipedia (2024) 2. Reddit HealthTech (2025)
3.	New GLP-1 pills	Orforglipron (Eli Lilly), efpeglenatide	Harald Sun (2025)
4.	Ai-enabled insulin delivery	Closed‑loop systems with reinforcement learning	Forbes (2025)
5.	Early detection using Ai	ECG‑DiaNet, chest‑X‑ray + EHR models	1. arXiv ECG-DiaNet (2025) 2. arXiv Chest X-ray Ai
6.	Microbiome & lifestyle	Probiotics, diet interventions, yoga prevention	1. MedNewsPedia (2025) 2. Times of India (2025)
7.	Indian biomarker research	Urinary exosome markers for early CKD detection	Times of India CKD biomarker (2025)
8.	Genetic/phenotypic subtypes	Non-autoimmune type -1 variant in African‑descent populations	Reuters (2025)

Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.