What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

According to Diabetes.org.uk, in 2022, fewer than 1 in 10 of all the people living with diabetes have type 1, whilst the remainder mainly have type 2. There are small cohorts of people living with other types, type 3 for example, however this article will focus on the difference between type 1 & type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 is an autoimmune condition which always requires insulin for treatment.
Type 2 is where the body's insulin response eventually becomes impaired and where the treatment is usually a combination of lifestyle and medication (sometimes insulin).

Essentially, the main differences are found in the origins and the treatment (one always needs insulin, the other sometimes needs insulin).

Considering that both types may use insulin, it is sometimes more useful to differentiate diabetes in this way: either insulin-requiring diabetes or non-insulin-requiring diabetes. To learn more about the symptoms associated with each type of diabetes, see our articles titled - 'Early signs of type 1 diabetes' & 'Early signs of type 2 diabetes'.