Causes of Diabetic Ketoacidosis

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Causes

Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs in people who have diabetes. People with diabetes have insufficient levels of the hormone insulin, which is necessary to help your cells take up glucose to use as energy. Even if your blood is flooded with glucose, it's still not available to the cells in the absence of insulin.

As the cells' energy reserves become depleted, your body attributes the problem to a lack of glucose in the blood Û which isn't actually the case Û and prompts the release of hormones that break down alternate fuels such as fat stores into glucose. The process of breaking down fats forms acids known as ketones. Increased ketone levels in the blood upset the pH balance in your blood, making the blood more acidic (acidosis). An acidic environment is toxic to your body's cells.

Stressful events often set off an episode of diabetic ketoacidosis because stress prompts the release of excessive amounts of hormones that break down fat into glucose, overwhelming the ability of insulin to "permit" the uptake of glucose into the cells.

Underlying triggers
Most cases of diabetic ketoacidosis are triggered by an underlying health problem. The most common cause of DKA is an infection, such as pneumonia or a urinary tract infection. Another common cause is inadequate insulin therapy.

Other possible causes include:

* Heart attack or stroke
* Alcohol or drug abuse
* An inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
* Physical or emotional trauma
* Insufficient fluid intake, particularly during hot weather

Up to 10 percent of the time, there's no identifiable cause for diabetic ketoacidosis.