What is Type 1 Diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system is activated to destroy the cells in the pancreas which produce insulin. We do not know what causes this autoimmune reaction. Type 1 diabetes is not linked to modifiable lifestyle factors. There is no cure and it cannot be prevented.

Type 1 Diabetes Facts

• Autoimmune Disease with NO cure

• Could NOT have been prevented

• Nothing to do with lifestyle or diet pre-diagnosis

• Requires 24/7 Insulin & Blood sugar monitoring

• Can be life threatening - (see our pages about Hypoglycaemia , Hyperglycaemia , DKA and other complications)

• High blood sugars require extra insulin

• Low blood sugars require fast acting sugar

• More than 130,000 Australians live with T1D

• Currently, T1D accounts for around 10% of all diabetes in Australia

• Every year, around 3000 children and adults are newly diagnosed with T1D

• About eight people are diagnosed with T1D every day in Australia

• Around 88% of people living with T1D in Australia are 21 years old or older

• Men are slightly (1.3 times) more likely to be diagnosed with T1D than women

• Indigenous Australians are 1.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with T1D than non-Indigenous Australians

• Around 25,000 Australians are in the early stages of T1D and have yet to be diagnosed

Type 1 diabetes typically results from the autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells, the producers of insulin. As the body’s own insulin production is impaired, treatment with multiple insulin injections or a continuous infusion of insulin through an insulin pump is a necessary daily activity for survival. People who have this type of diabetes often need to conduct around 6 to 8 finger pricks a day to monitor their blood glucose levels. This group accounts for approximately 10% of all people with diabetes in Australia. Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, although most cases develop amongst children, teenagers and young adults. There is currently no means of preventing or curing type 1 diabetes. It is one of the most common chronic diseases amongst children and Australia has one of the highest rates of type 1 in the world.

The Australian Diabetes Map is a reference tool showing the numbers of people diagnosed with diabetes in all parts of Australia, with information on age, gender and diabetes type, reflecting prevalence rates at a national, federal electorate, state electorate, local government and postcode level.

The total annual cost for people with type 2 diabetes in Australia is estimated at $6 billion (Colagiuri et al., 2003) and $570 million for people with type 1 diabetes (Colagiuri et al., 2009a). The average annual cost per person increases greatly with the presence of complications, from $4,025 per person with type 2 diabetes without complications and $3,468 per person with type 1 diabetes without complications, to $9,645 per person with type 2 diabetes with micro- and macrovascular complications and $16,698 per person with type 1 diabetes with micro- and macrovascular complications. - Source Diabetes Australia

Other types of Diabetes