Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a sudden loss of insulin production, typically presenting in childhood or teenage years, while type 2 diabetes exists on a continuum of insulin insensitivity that can be exacerbated by obesity and lifestyle factors like smoking and alcohol intake.

“the time to presentation can be different uh a type 1 diabetic usually presents with sort of a cataclysmic sudden loss sudden sort of final loss of their ability to make insulin it usually presents in childhood or teenage years but can present you can have late on set type 1 diabetes because it's kind of a sudden presentation it can take some years after that to show any diabetic retinopathy whereas just because just just like you said type two diabetes can be on a continuum and people can have like kind of a mild type two diabetes but kind of be you know getting along you know going through life kind of maybe not even realizing you know at first”