It’s caused by insulin resistance that’s due to the hormones the placenta makes. Gestational diabetes is a temporary form of diabetes that can happen during pregnancy. While T1D is not caused by insulin resistance, people with T1D can experience levels of insulin resistance in which their cells don’t respond well to the insulin they inject. T1D is an autoimmune and chronic disease, and people with T1D have to inject synthetic insulin to live and be healthy. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) happens when your body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in your pancreas for an unknown reason. T2D happens when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or your body doesn’t use insulin well (insulin resistance), resulting in high blood glucose levels. Prediabetes can lead to Type 2 diabetes (T2D), the most common type of diabetes. Prediabetes usually occurs in people who already have some insulin resistance. Prediabetes happens when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Over time, chronic insulin resistance can lead to prediabetes and then Type 2 diabetes if it’s not treated or able to be treated. What is the difference between insulin resistance and diabetes?Īnyone can develop insulin resistance - temporarily or chronically. In addition to Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance is associated with several other conditions, including: If your cells become too resistant to insulin, it leads to elevated blood glucose levels ( hyperglycemia), which, over time, leads to prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. This is called hyperinsulinemia.Īs long as your pancreas can make enough insulin to overcome your cells’ weak response to insulin, your blood sugar levels will stay in a healthy range. As a result, your pancreas makes more insulin to try to overcome your increasing blood glucose levels. When glucose enters your cells and the levels in your bloodstream decrease, it signals your pancreas to stop producing insulin.įor several reasons, your muscle, fat and liver cells can respond inappropriately to insulin, which means they can’t efficiently take up glucose from your blood or store it.Insulin helps glucose in your blood enter your muscle, fat and liver cells so they can use it for energy or store it for later use.Glucose enters your bloodstream, which signals your pancreas to release insulin.Your body breaks down the food you eat into glucose (sugar), which is your body’s main source of energy.Under normal circumstances, insulin functions in the following steps: Insulin resistance can be temporary or chronic and is treatable in some cases. Insulin resistance, also known as impaired insulin sensitivity, happens when cells in your muscles, fat and liver don’t respond as they should to insulin, a hormone your pancreas makes that’s essential for life and regulating blood glucose (sugar) levels.