Resource Library

Take the Diabetes Quiz

Test your knowledge of diabetes with this true-false quiz.

1. There are two main categories of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. How many people with diabetes have type 2?
   
   A. 10 to 15 percent
   B. 30 to 35 percent
   C. 45 to 50 percent
   D. 90 to 95 percent
   
   
2. Pregnant women can develop a temporary form of diabetes called gestational diabetes. What percent of these woman could develop diabetes within 10 years after their pregnancy?
   
   A. Less than 10 percent
   B. Less than 15 percent
   C. 20 to 50 percent
   D. 90 percent
   
   
3. Insulin is produced by what gland in the body?
   
   A. Pituitary gland
   B. Pancreas
   C. Adrenal glands
   D. Kidneys
   
   
4. Why is insulin critical in the chemistry of blood sugar?
   
   A. It enables glucose to enter cells
   B. It lowers blood pressure
   C. It raises cholesterol
   D. It stabilizes sucrose levels
   
   
5. Early detection and good control of diabetes will help avoid complications. People with diabetes are at increased risk of developing which of these?
   
   A. Heart disease
   B. Cancer
   C. Stroke
   D. A and C
   
   
6. Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood, when the beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed. What destroys them?
   
   A. The immune system
   B. Environmental toxins
   C. Free radicals
   D. Bacteria
   
   
7. Which ethnic groups are most likely to develop diabetes?
   
   A. Caucasian Americans
   B. African Americans
   C. Hispanic Americans
   D. B and C
   
   
8. The development of type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity. What are other risk factors for it?
   
   A. Older age
   B. Family history of diabetes
   C. Physical inactivity
   D. All of the above

1. D, 90 to 95 percent. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't produce enough insulin, or the body isn't able to use the insulin that's produced.
   
   
2. C, 20 to 50 percent. The ADA estimates that women who had have gestational diabetes have a 20 to 50 percent chance of developing diabetes in the next five to 10 years.
   
   
3. B, pancreas. Insulin is produced by the pancreas.
   
   
4. A, it enables glucose to enter cells. Insulin unlocks the cell door so that a chemical reaction can take place and produce energy. Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of blood sugar. These levels are the result of defects in insulin production, insulin action, or both, the ADA says.
   
   
5. D, A and C. Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes. The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes. In addition, diabetes causes other complications: It is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20 to 74 years old; 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have forms of nervous system damage that include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.
   
   
6. A, the immune system. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body's immune system destroys the cells in the body that make insulin, the ADA says. Type 1 diabetes usually appears in children and young adults and accounts for up to 10 percent of diabetes cases. People with type 1 diabetes need to have insulin injections several times a day or an insulin pump.
   
   
7. D, B and C. According to the ADA, nearly 8 percent of Caucasian Americans who are not Hispanic have diabetes, and 13 percent of African Americans have diabetes. African Americans are two times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic Caucasians, says the ADA. Ten percent of Hispanic Americans have diabetes, and Hispanic Americans are nearly twice as likely to have diabetes than Caucasian Americans.
   
   
8. D, all of the above. Risk factors for diabetes include older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes, impaired glucose intolerance, physical inactivity and race or ethnicity, the ADA says. Type 2 diabetes is increasingly more common in children and teens.