[header] How to diagnose diabetes [title] Distinguish type 1. [step] Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile or insulin dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition most often diagnosed in children. However, it can be diagnosed during any point in a patient's life. 
When a patient has type 1, the pancreas makes little to no insulin. In most cases, this is due to the body's immune system mistakenly attacking and destroying the insulin producing cell in the pancreas.