Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that occurs when insulin-producing beta cells within the pancreas are gradually destroyed and eventually fail to produce insulin. Type 1 accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed diabetes in the United States. While it is most often diagnosed in children and teens, it is not uncommon for adults to be diagnosed later in life. Type 1 diabetes diagnosed in adulthood may be a form of slowly-progressing diabetes called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), or type 1.5 diabetes.