What Causes Diabetes?
Diabetes causes vary depending on your genetic makeup, family history, ethnicity, health and environmental factors. The causes of diabetes vary depending on the individual and the type. For instance; the causes of type 1 diabetes vary considerably from the causes of gestational diabetes. Similarly, the causes of type 2 diabetes are distinct from the causes of type 1 diabetes.What Causes Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin due to the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes—an autoimmune disease—the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells. Normally, the immune system protects the body from infection by identifying and destroying bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful foreign substances. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s own cells. In type 1 diabetes, beta cell destruction may take place over several years, but symptoms of the disease usually develop over a short period of time.There is no specific diabetes causes, but the following triggers may be involved:
- Viral or bacterial infection
- Chemical toxins within food
- Unidentified component causing autoimmune reaction
What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes—the most common form of diabetes—is caused by a combination of factors, including insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s muscle, fat, and liver cells do not use insulin effectively. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body can no longer produce enough insulin to compensate for the impaired ability to use insulin.Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. Although there is a strong family link (you are more likely to get type 2 diabetes if a close family member has it), There are a variety of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, any or all of which increase the chances of developing the condition. These include:
- Obesity (overweight)
- Living a sedentary lifestyle (little physical activity)
- Bad diet (a high fat, high sugar diet)
- Increasing age
- High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes progresses slowly and you can have it for many years without knowing it. It differs from type 1 diabetes, which is thought to occur because the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes is not caused by the body’s immune system.
Type 2 diabetes develops most often in middle-aged and older people who are also overweight or obese. The disease, once rare in youth, is becoming more common in overweight and obese children and adolescents. Scientists think genetic susceptibility and environmental factors are the most likely triggers of type 2 diabetes.
What Causes Gestational Diabetes?
Scientists believe gestational diabetes is caused by the hormonal changes and metabolic demands of pregnancy together with genetic and environmental factors.During pregnancy, a woman’s body needs two to three times more insulin than usual to keep her blood glucose levels normal. Gestational diabetes develops if your pancreas is unable to produce the extra insulin needed, causing higher than normal blood sugar (glucose) levels.
there are a number of risk factors that increase the chances of developing this condition:
- Family history of gestational diabetes
- Overweight or obese
- Suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome
- Have had a large baby weighing over 9lb
Causes of gestational diabetes may also be related to ethnicity – some ethnic groups have a higher risk of gestational diabetes.
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