In reading about diabetes, I have found things that I find fascinating. I thought I would share some of them with you. Most of the information can be found through the American Diabetes Association web site -http://www.diabetes.org/.
(Here is that general warning - I am not a physician. I cannot dispense medical advise. Please check with a physician if you have medical questions.)
1. Genes are not enough to cause diabetes - Having the predisposition is one part of the disease but the other is that something in your environment triggers the onset.
2. If you have Type 1 diabetes, the risk to your child depends on a couple of factors. If you are a man with Type 1 diabetes, the odds of your child getting Type 1 diabetes is 1 in 17. If you are a women, it depends on your age when you give birth. If you are under 25, the odds are 1 in 25. If you are over 25, the odds are 1 in 100 - the same as in the general population.
3. In contrast, with Type 2 diabetes, your chance of a genetic link are higher if your mother had Type 2 diabetes. Also age plays a factor - if the parent was diagnosed before the age of 50, the odds are 1 in 7. If the parent was diagnosed after the age of 50, the risk drops to 1 in 13.
4. The research indicates that while someone may have the risk factors to get Type 1, it is felt that there is some triggering event that sets the disease in motion. This triggering event can be a virus or in some cases they think it can be something that causes trauma to the body, like a car accident.
5. There are actually three types of diabetes. There is Type 1, Type 2, and Type 1.5 or LADA. Type 1.5 is often thought to be diabetes Type 2 because it typically is found in adults. The expectation is for the person to have Type 2 but upon further testing, it can be found that the person has the presence of autoantibodies, which is indicative of Type 1 but not Type 2 diabetes.
There are 5 things I find fascinating today. What do you think? Do you have an interesting fact about diabetes? Please share it in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
There's also genstational diabetes, "induced" diabetes such as those caused by medications or poisons - agent orange, and there's a whole suite of MODY forms.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maturity_onset_diabetes_of_the_young
You are absolutely right. I wanted to spotlight 1.5 as it is so often mis-diagnosed. Thanks for reading the blog!
ReplyDeleteIf you are a women, it depends on your age when you give birth. If you are under 25, the odds are 1 in 25. If you are over 25, the odds are 1 in 100 - the same as in the general population.
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