How Much Do You Know About Diabetes?

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
How Much Do You Know About Diabetes?
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About This Quiz

Diabetes is a feared word, and with good reason; annually large numbers of persons are diagnosed as diabetic and many more have been on the roller coaster of monitoring and controlling their blood sugars for a number of years. Diabetes is not simply one big bad disease that someone who does not live a healthy lifestyle can get. There are actually, three recognized types of diabetes, namely type I, type II and gestational.

In type I diabetes, the body is basically attacking its own cells thinking that they are the enemy. This causes the pancreas to be unable to produce insulin which is the hormone that turns the sugar from our food to energy. In the second type, the cells are not under siege, rather they are present and actively producing insulin, but the body cannot recognize in order to begin breaking down glucose. While diabetes can go on unnoticed for some time, symptoms may include frequent and excessive thirst, increased hunger or insatiability, headaches, fatigue and unexplained weight loss.

While it is incurable, this malady is not a death sentence. With proper diet, a more active lifestyle, and pharmaceutical intervention, one can live like they do not have diabetes. But do you know enough about the disease to prevent it or manage it? Let's find out!

Which of the following is not a symptom of diabetes?
Urinating often
Feeling very thirsty
Headaches
Frequent urination, dehydration, and blurry vision are related symptoms caused by diabetes.
Blurry vision

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What does "hypoglycemia" mean?
High blood sugar
Low blood sugar
Hypoglycemia means low blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association defines hypoglecemia as a condition that occurs when one's blood glucose is lower than normal, usually less than 70 mg/dL. Signs include hunger, nervousness, shakiness, perspiration, dizziness or light-headedness, sleepiness, and confusion.
Low blood pressure
High cholesterol

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A doctor that specializes in diabetes is called an:
Oncologist
Immunologist
Ophthalmologist
Endocrinologist
Endocrinologists specialize in the branch of biology dealing with the endocrine glands and their secretions, especially in relation to their processes or functions, including diabetes.

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Who can get diabetes?
Only children under 10 years of age
Adults who are overweight
People that consume a lot of sugar in their diet
Anyone could be at risk depending on genetics and lifestyle factors
Anyone could be at risk depending on genetics and lifestyle factors. What causes diabetes is not completely understood. Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics and unknown factors that trigger the onset of the disease; type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors.

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Should people who have diabetes avoid eating sweets and chocolate?
Yep, eating chocolate is dangerous for people with diabetes.
Nope. Sweets are no more "off limits" to people with diabetes than they are to people without diabetes.
If eaten as part of a healthy meal plan, or combined with exercise, sweets and desserts can be eaten by people with diabetes. The key is to have small portions and save them for special occasions so you focus your meal on more healthful foods.
Yes, sugar and sweets are what caused their diabetes in the first place.
No way. People with diabetes should only eat sweets and chocolate.

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Insulin is:
A condition occurring when ketones are present in the urine.
One of the simplest forms of sugar.
The form of glucose found in the liver and muscles.
A hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy.
Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy. The beta cells of the pancreas make insulin. When the body cannot make enough insulin, it is taken by injection or through use of an insulin pump.

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Can you catch diabetes from someone else?
Yes
No
No. Although we don't know exactly why some people develop diabetes, we know diabetes is not contagious. It can't be caught like a cold or flu. There seems to be some genetic link in diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle factors also play a part.

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Which of the following celebrities has diabetes?
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks. The Oscar-winning actor announced he has type 2 diabetes when late-night host David Letterman commented on his newly slim figure in October 2013. "I went to the doctor and he said, 'You know those high blood sugar numbers you've been dealing with since you were 36? Well, you've graduated. You've got type 2 diabetes, young man.'" Hanks added that the condition is manageable, but he joked that he couldn't get back down to his high-school weight of 96 pounds. "I was a very skinny boy!"
Kim Kardashian
Brad Pitt
Selena Gomez

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Which of the following is not a real type of diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Type 3 diabetes
There's no such thing as Type 3 diabetes. In general, people with diabetes either have a total lack of insulin (type 1 diabetes) or they have too little insulin or cannot use insulin effectively (type 2 diabetes). Gestational diabetes happens only during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes

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Which of the following will cure diabetes?
Cinnamon
Insulin
Both A and B
None of the above
The reality is that there is no cure for diabetes -- neither type 1 diabetes nor type 2 diabetes. However, there are treatments, things that can be done that make a big difference.

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Which of the following will generally not decrease high blood sugar?
Insulin
Glucagon
Glucagon is a hormone produced by the alpha cells in the pancreas. It raises blood glucose.
Exercise
Metformin

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Which of the following can cause high blood sugar?
Coffee
Stress
A bad cold
All of the above
There are a surprising number of factors that can increase blood sugar, including coffee, stress, and illness. Other causes include steroids and cold medicine.

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Which of the following is a smart meal choice for a person with diabetes?
5 slices of meat supreme deep dish pizza
Half cup brown rice, roasted carrots, grilled flank steak
Eating with diabetes doesn't have to mean deprivation, starvation, or bland and boring foods. However, some foods, especially those high in saturated fat and carbohydrates, really are best left on the table or in the store.
Deep fried orange chicken with half cup white rice
All of the above

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What oral health problems can develop for people with diabetes?
Gum disease
Dry mouth
Thrush
All of the above
People with diabetes are at a higher risk for gum disease, dry mouth, thrush, and other dental problems. Diabetes may weaken your mouth and body's germ-fighting powers and high blood glucose levels can make gum disease worse.

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A hemoglobin A1C test measures:
Nerve damage in feet
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure
How effectively blood glucose is controlled by reflecting average blood glucose control for the two- to three-month period before the test.
The A1C, which is also called a glycohemoglobin or hemoglobin A1C test, reflects your average blood glucose control for the two- to three-month period before the test. This test can be done on a sample of blood obtained from a fingerstick or from a small vial of blood drawn from the arm and then tested in a laboratory.
Early signs of kidney disease

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Which of the following major organs is not affected by diabetes?
Bones
Too high of a blood sugar level, especially over a prolonged period, can damage many areas of the body including the eyes, kidneys, and nervous system.
Eyes
Kidneys
Nervous system

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A cell that makes insulin is called a:
Beta cell
Beta cells are unique cells in the pancreas that produce, store and release the hormone insulin. Located in the area of the pancreas know as the islets of Langerhans (the organ's endocrine structures), they are one of at least five different types of islet cells that produce and secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream.
Basal rate
Carbohydrate
Diabetic ketoacidosis

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The American Diabetes Association was founded in:
1940
The American Diabetes Association is founded in 1940 to address the increasing incidence of diabetes and the complications that develop from the disease.
1826
1759
1964

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Which of the following is not technology that helps manage diabetes?
Insulin pumps
Pagers
Pagers have nothing to do with diabetes, however care has improved with many of the technological advances in the field. From insulin pumps, advanced blood glucose monitors, and continuous glucose monitors, technology is helping deal with diabetes easier than ever before
Blood glucose monitors
Continuous glucose monitors

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Which of the following is a common myth about diabetes?
Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.
While eating too much sugar does not cause diabetes, a diet high in calories from any source contributes to weight gain which is linked to type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people should avoid intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to help prevent diabetes.
Insulin can help manage diabetes, even for those with type 2.
A healthy meal for a person with diabetes is basically the same as a healthy diet for anyone.
People with diabetes are no more likely to get a cold of any other illness.

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Which of the following is a helpful comment to say to a person dealing with diabetes?
Should you be eating that?
My grandma went blind from diabetes.
How can I support you?
Many people with diabetes are living longer, healthier lives than ever before, thanks to the array of treatment options that have become available over the past decade. If someone you know is living with diabetes, you can help by knowing what to say and not to say to help them.
Are you going to die like Shelby in Steel Magnolias?

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Gestational diabetes is:
Caused by drinking too much diet soda during pregnancy.
When a pregnant woman is not able to make or use all the insulin her body needs.
Gestational diabetes develops only during pregnancy when a woman's body is unable to make or use all the necessary insulin. It usually disappears upon delivery, but increases the risk that the mother will develop diabetes later. It is managed with meal planning, activity, and, in some cases, insulin.
A carbohydrate-based sweetener found in plants and used as a substitute for sugar.
An experimental treatment for taking insulin.

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If you think you might have diabetes, you should:
Drink a lot of water.
See your doctor.
Early detection and treatment of diabetes can decrease the risk of developing the complications of diabetes. If you're worried, talk to your doctor about possible next steps or learn how your doctor can make a diabetes diagnosis.
Fast for 24 hours.
Increase your vitamin C intake.

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A lancet is:
A spring-loaded device used to prick the skin with a small needle to obtain a drop of blood for blood glucose monitoring.
A lancet is used to puncture the skin to get a blood sample for testing how much glucose is present in blood.
An oral medicine used to treat Type 2 diabetes.
A way to measure blood glucose without pricking the finger to obtain a blood sample.
An organ located behind the stomach that makes insulin and enzymes for digestion.

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Insulin was invented at the:
University of California, Santa Barbara in 1982.
University of Toronto in 1921.
In October 1920 in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Frederick Banting, an unknown surgeon with a bachelor's degree in medicine, had the idea that the pancreatic digestive juices could be harmful to the secretion of the pancreas produced by the islets of Langerhans. Thus ignited the lifesaving discovery of insulin by Banting in 1921.
University of Washington in 1948.
Harvard in 1879.

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