Learn about the organ’s role in producing insulin and managing blood sugar.
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- The Pancreas
- Your Pancreas and Blood Sugar
- The Diabetes Link
- Pancreatitis
- Pancreatic Cancer
- The Bottom Line
Nearly 16% of US adults over age 20 have diabetes, making it one of the most common chronic conditions in the country. If you fall into that category (or are at risk for entering it soon), you’re likely familiar with the importance of blood sugar and insulin in managing this disease. But what about the pancreas, and the role it plays in diabetes?
The functioning of this organ affects your ability to stabilize your blood sugar, digest your meals, and absorb key nutrients from your food. The health of your pancreas impacts not just your risk of developing diabetes or your ability to manage it, but the well-being of your entire body, too.
So how does pancreatic function become impaired to the point that it leads to diabetes, and is there anything you can do to keep your pancreas healthy? Our experts explain.
The Pancreas
What Is the Pancreas?
The pancreas is a fatty organ that sits behind the stomach, explains Disha Narang, M.D., an endocrinologist and the director of obesity medicine at Endeavor Health in Skokie, IL. It’s about six inches long and pear-like in shape, with the “head” at the wide end typically pointing to the right side of the body and the thinner “tail” pointing left.
“The pancreas’s main function is hormone secretion. It releases a combination of insulin and glucagon [to regulate blood sugar] and digestive hormones [to break down food],” explains Dr. Narang.
Though a single organ, the pancreas is often referred to as having two distinct parts with separate functions. The exocrine pancreas makes up roughly 85% of the organ’s tissue and produces enzymes that are released into the small intestine, where they break down protein, carbohydrates, and fat; the endocrine pancreas is made up of a cluster of cells known as islets of Langerhans and produces hormones that raise and lower blood sugar, explains Caroline Messer, M.D., a clinical assistant professor of endocrinology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and the founder of the metabolic health and wellness practice Well By Messer.
Your Pancreas and Blood Sugar
How the Pancreas Regulates Blood Sugar
The pancreas’s ability to regulate blood sugar (glucose) relies on the production of two hormones: glucagon and insulin. “There are receptors on the cells in the pancreas that sense the glucose levels [in the blood],” Dr. Messer explains. “When everything’s working well, rising glucose levels trigger pancreatic beta cells to release insulin.” Insulin is a hormone that allows the body’s cells to absorb glucose, thereby lowering levels in the blood.
The pancreas’s receptors can also sense when glucose drops too low, which can occur if you haven’t eaten in a while, are dehydrated, or have been exercising intensely. When that happens, the pancreas signals to alpha cells to release the hormone glucagon, Dr. Messer says. Glucagon prompts your liver to release a stored form of glucose called glycogen, raising blood sugar levels back to normal again.
The Diabetes Link
The Pancreas and Diabetes
Since the pancreas plays a key role in blood sugar regulation, and diabetes happens when your body can’t regulate blood sugar well, the health of this organ and diabetes are intricately linked. “Having diabetes alone is a sign of pancreatic dysfunction. Severe or uncontrolled diabetes could cause further pancreatic dysfunction,” Dr. Narang says. Exactly how the pancreas malfunctions depends on the type of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It occurs when the body begins producing antibodies that attack the pancreas’s beta cells, severely inhibiting their ability to produce insulin, Dr. Messer says. Without the hormone, a person’s blood glucose levels can rise to dangerous levels, leading to issues like fatigue, extreme dehydrations, and even coma and death. “It usually takes about a year before the destruction’s complete and the person can’t produce any insulin,” Dr. Messer says. People with type 1 diabetes need to use a pharmaceutical form of insulin in order to regulate their own blood sugar.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, meaning that your tissues can no longer readily accept or metabolize the insulin your pancreas is producing; your pancreas’s insulin production may also decrease, Dr. Narang says. This results in high blood sugar, and many of the same complications as type 1 diabetes.
During the early stages of insulin resistance, your pancreas may try to compensate for the high blood glucose levels by producing more insulin; over time, this damages the beta cells’ ability to release the hormone, according to a 2024 Chinese study.
People with type 2 diabetes don’t always need insulin to manage the condition; in some cases, lifestyle modifications and other medications such as metformin can be enough to help them manage their blood sugar levels.
Gestational Diabetes.
Gestational diabetes (GD) only occurs during pregnancy. The placenta, a temporary organ that develops in the uterus, produces hormones that can keep insulin from working effectively. If the pancreas can’t produce enough additional insulin to keep blood sugar in check, the person will develop GD. That said, there’s evidence that people who have gestational diabetes during pregnancy are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes down the line, possibly because they have preexisting insulin resistance and beta cell damage, per a 2022 study in the journal Diabetes Care.
As with type 2 diabetes, some people with GD are able to manage the condition through lifestyle changes like diet and exercise; others need to take insulin.
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis and Diabetes
Conditions that affect the health of the pancreas can interfere with the organ’s ability to regulate blood sugar and even increase the risk of diabetes. Pancreatitis is one example, says Dr. Narang. It occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed, leading to severe pain, stomach upset, and even organ failure, she says. While it’s not directly caused by diabetes, the condition can increase someone’s risk of developing pancreatitis; and pancreatitis can also increase the risk of diabetes.
Acute Pancreatitis
This form of pancreatitis comes on suddenly and intensely. It’s typically caused by alcohol abuse, high triglyceride levels, or gallstones, all of which trigger inflammation, Dr. Narang says. Diabetes can also lead to acute pancreatitis, especially in people who have a history of life-threatening complications caused by very high blood sugar levels, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, a 2020 study in the Korean Journal of Internal Medicine found.
Acute pancreatitis can damage the pancreatic cells, increasing one’s risk of diabetes. A 2024 study in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology reports that 23% of people will develop diabetes in the three years following a case of acute pancreatitis.
Acute pancreatitis may require hospital treatment. A person may experience just one instance of the condition, but it’s also possible to experience repeat episodes, called “acute recurrent pancreatitis.”
Chronic Pancreatitis
In chronic pancreatitis, the inflammation that causes symptoms persists, leading to serious pancreatic damage. It’s possible to develop the chronic form after having several acute episodes. Risk factors include long-term alcohol abuse, but genetic factors and autoimmune conditions can also lead to chronic pancreatitis, Dr. Messer says.
Diabetes isn’t thought to cause chronic pancreatitis, but the condition is so hard on the pancreas that as many as 40% of adults with it also have diabetes, reports the Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. The risk increases the longer you live with chronic pancreatitis, with up to 83% of those with the condition developing diabetes within 20 years. The type of diabetes caused by pancreatitis is called type 3c diabetes.
Symptoms of Pancreatitis
If you suspect you have either form of pancreatitis, it’s imperative that you get help from a healthcare provider immediately. Dr. Messer and Dr. Narang says these are the symptoms to watch out for:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Jaundice
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Pain in the upper abdomen that may extend into the back
- Pain that worsens after eating
- Rapid heart rate
- Swollen or tender abdomen
Pancreatic Cancer
Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer
The relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer goes in both directions, Dr. Messer says. “Diabetes is an inflammatory condition. Whenever your body is chronically inflamed, you’re going to be at higher risk for cancers, including pancreatic cancer,” she says. People with diabetes have at least a two times higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, reports the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
But pancreatic cancer can also cause diabetes, because the cancer cells prevent the organ from being able to produce insulin, Dr. Messer says. In fact, people who receive a new diagnosis of diabetes after age 50 have eight times the risk of having pancreatic cancer than others, which researchers believe is a sign that the cancer actually caused the diabetes, according to research in The Lancet Oncology.
The Bottom Line
Key Takeaways
The role of the pancreas in producing insulin is extremely important for blood sugar regulation, diabetes prevention, and the health of the whole body. The pancreas is largely “a self-sustaining organ,” Dr. Narang says, meaning there’s not much you need to do to take care of it. But whether you have diabetes or not, moderating your alcohol intake, eating a well-balanced diet, taking steps to avoid major blood sugar spikes or crashes, and staying on top of your health check-ups are always good strategies for preventing potential issues with your pancreas before they become big problems.
This article was originally published March 26, 2025 and most recently updated April 15, 2025.