What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes may also be known by a variety of other names, including:

• diabetes mellitus
• type I diabetes
• insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)
• juvenile diabetes
• sugar diabetes

There are two forms of type 1 diabetes:

• idiopathic type 1 - refers to rare forms of the disease with no known cause.
• immune-mediated diabetes - an autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system destroys, or attempts to destroy, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

Immune-mediated diabetes is the most common form of type 1 diabetes, and the one generally referred to as type 1 diabetes. The information on this page refers to this form of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes in the US. Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can start at any age.