SHEPHERDSTOWN — November is National Diabetes Month — a month that means a lot to many in the Eastern Panhandle and across the state.

In West Virginia, 16% of the population have been diagnosed with diabetes, with another 35% being in the prediabetic stage, according to research conducted by the American Diabetes Association. Around 10,473 West Virginians are diagnosed with diabetes every year.

The majority of those with diabetes — 90-95% — have Type 2 Diabetes, a condition where the body cannot use effectively or produce enough insulin — a hormone created in the pancreas — to convert all of its ingested glucose into cellular energy.

“It is estimated that more than one in 10 adults in West Virginia have diabetes, meaning West Virginia has the second highest of diabetes in the country,” said WVU Medicine communications representative Mary Ravasio Minard.

Type 2 Diabetes can be caused by a variety of factors, including age, genetics, an inactive lifestyle and poor diet. As some of those factors can be changed, the disease can be reversed, with considerable effort, in some people. For others, however, the disease becomes a lifelong condition that must be carefully monitored by healthcare professionals and, in some cases, treated with prescription medication.

“Diabetes is a huge problem in West Virginia. Of course, we see the downstream consequences of cardiovascular disease being developed, as well,” said WVU Medicine Endocrinologist Smita Kumar, MD.

The second most common form of diabetes — being diagnosed in 5% of the diabetic population — is Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Unlike with Type 2, Type 1 is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking and destroying the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The chronic autoimmune disease is believed to be cause by genetic and environmental factors. It cannot be reversed and requires immediate and regular medication, in the form of injections of synthesized insulin.

According to Breakthrough T1D Operations Manager Paul Himes, the numbers of those being diagnosed with Type 1 are rising, especially among adults. In the past, the disease was believed to only develop in children and so was commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes. But Himes himself is an example of this no longer being the case, as he was diagnosed with Type 1 during his senior year of college.

“There’s been a serious uptick in Type 1 Diabetes,” Himes said, noting he had to take a year’s leave from college to learn how to live with the disease. “More people need to be aware of it, so they can recognize it and know how to support those who are suffering from it.”

To learn more about diabetes and National Diabetes Month, visit the American Diabetes Association’s website, at https://diabetesjournals.org/, or Breakthrough T1D’s website, at https://www.breakthrought1d.org/.