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health problems such as diabetes mellitus, a group of diseases that affect how the body uses
blood glucose.
Diabetes mellitus is a health condition that affects more than 20 million Americans
with over 40 million Americans having pre-diabetes (early Type 2 diabetes) (2). The lifelong
(chronic) disease is characterized by unusually high concentrations of glucose in the blood
due to abnormal metabolism of sugars in the body (5). Diabetes is often caused by having too
little insulin or resistance to the existing insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone produced
by the pancreas to control blood sugars by moving glucose from the bloodstream into fat,
muscle and liver cells where it is used as fuel for the body (2). Diabetic patients have trouble
moving sugars into their cells to be stored as energy because their pancreas may not be
producing enough insulin or their cells do not respond to the insulin produced leading to
insulin resistance (2).
There are currently three major types of diabetes: Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes
and Gestationa Diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile-onset diabetes, occurs
mostly in children, but can affect any age group (1). This particular type requires daily
injections of insulin because the body makes little or no insulin of its own. Type 2 diabetes
results from insulin resistance (body rejecting the insulin the pancreas produces) and occurs
most often in adulthood affecting mostly obese patients. Gestational diabetes is high blood
sugar that develops during pregnancy in women who normally don’t have diabetes (2).
Diabetes is becoming more prevalent in today’s society especially with the increased
obesity rates so patient monitoring is important to ensure that proper measurements and
treatments are taken to protect the patients. Various blood tests are used for screening and to
confirm the diagnosis for diabetes especially for patients with blood levels higher than 200
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