Genetic Diabetes

Most people suffering from diabetes understandably worry for their children, as chances of young ones to get diabetes due to parents are high. Diabetes itself is not hereditary, but the risk factors that a person carries are passed through the genes, and make it more likely that the next generation will get it. Around 80% of people diagnosed with diabetes every year have at least one family member who has diabetes. Genetic diabetes is nothing, but the factors of diabetes that get transferred to the other generation due to affected family member.

Types of Diabetes

There are two chief types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1, also known as juvenile diabetes occurs mostly among young adults and children. Patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin, which is utilized in transforming sugar into energy. Type 1diabetes is rare and almost less than 5% of all diabetes cases have been found. In patients with type 2 diabetes, insulin is not produced sufficiently by the body or the cells cannot take in insulin.

It has been noticed that one of three Americans are diabetic, with women who are more likely to develop diabetes than men.

Risk factors for having genetic diabetes can be a family history of diabetes, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, fasting blood sugar above 110, blood sugar higher than 200 thirty minutes after a meal, excess hair on the face or body or diabetes during pregnancy.

Effects

The role of genetic factors in the development of this disease is stronger in type 1 than type 2.

For type 1 diabetes, there can be environmental facts for the onset of diabetes. These can be an infection, weather and diet. Breastfeeding at initial years can play an important role. People who were breastfed are less likely to get type 1 diabetes. For type 2 diabetes, family history can be the strongest risk factor for diabetes onset. Type 2 diabetes is also linked to obesity. It is believed that type 2 diabetes has variations in several genes. Two of such genes, calpain 10 and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alphas are identified of using whole-genome linkage studies.

A person with any of the basic symptoms of diabetes must first try to bring change in lifestyle to prevent diabetes: Refined carbohydrates, white rice, flour, milled corn, all added sugars and drinks containing sugar must be avoided, regular exercise, weight loss if you are overweight, and controlling weight for the rest of the life. This will help you to decrease the risk of having diabetes, even if it prevails in your family.

Significance

genetic factor increases the risk of getting diabetes, other environmental factors like diet and exercise plays vital role to know whether a person can have diabetes or not.

Studies with identical twins indicate that the risk of developing diabetes for one twin if the other already has diabetes is more for type 1 diabetes and 75% for type 2 diabetes. Even when a person carries the diabetes genes, it is possible that she or he won't develop diabetes.

Considerations

The influence of genetic factor on diabetes is partially reflected through the relation of diabetes and race incidence. Whites are likely to develop type 1 diabetes whereas Mexican Americans, Pima Indians and African-Americans are at great risk for type 2 diabetes.

After making the search on the epidemic of diabetes on the island of Nuru, scientists have proposed that human genes are made to survive famine and starvation. When food becomes abundant, such genes cause the body to build up fat stores, which lead to obesity and increase the risk for diabetes. This hypothesis is also referred as the theory of "thrifty genes" that stresses more on genetic diabetes.