Undiagnosed diabetes: Warning signs your body sends that shouldn’t be ignored

Despite medical progress and the expansion of screening programs, millions of people around the world still live with diabetes without realizing they have it. In the United States alone, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that about 8.7 million people have diabetes without a diagnosis, which is about a quarter of adults with the disease.

The absence of diagnosis leads to the silent development of the disease, which increases the risk of serious health complications that could have been avoided with early detection.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels. It is divided into several types, most notably type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common, representing between 90% and 95% of cases, and often remains undetected for years because high blood sugar develops gradually and without severe symptoms in its early stages.

Type 2 diabetes is preceded by a stage known as prediabetes, a condition that can persist for years without any noticeable symptoms. Even when mild signs do appear, they are often overlooked or mistaken for fatigue, aging, or the stresses of daily life, leading to delayed diagnosis and a missed opportunity for early intervention that could slow the progression of the disease.

In contrast, type 1 diabetes differs in its nature and speed of onset, as it is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the pancreas cells responsible for insulin secretion. Its symptoms often appear suddenly in children, such as rapid weight loss, excessive thirst, and frequent urination. The initial diagnosis may be related to a medical emergency known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a serious complication that requires urgent intervention.

The importance of early detection lies in paying attention to symptoms that may indicate diabetes, especially if they appear together or persist for a long time.

Common symptoms that may indicate diabetes:

• Frequent urination: This is a result of the body trying to get rid of excess sugar through urine, which leads to fluid loss and increased thirst.
• Intense and persistent thirst: due to the loss of water and salts resulting from frequent urination.
• Extreme hunger: This results from the body’s cells being unable to use sugar as an energy source due to a lack of insulin or insulin resistance.
• Constant fatigue: as the body is unable to benefit from food, the effective source of energy.
• Unexplained weight loss:  especially in children with type 1 diabetes, and may also occur in cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
• Blurred vision: This is a result of the small blood vessels in the eye being affected by high blood sugar.
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet: due to peripheral nerve damage associated with chronic high blood sugar.

In addition to these symptoms, other less common but still noteworthy signs may appear, including:

• Dry mouth.
• Dry and itchy skin.
• Slow wound healing.
• Recurrent infections, especially skin or fungal infections.
• The appearance of dark skin patches with a velvety texture in some areas of the body.