Diabetes affects almost 24 million Americans, and the number is rising. The types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, have different causes. Type 2, once called adult onset diabetes but now also found in children, is the most common type of diabetes and the type whose onset and severity can often be affected by modifying risk factors.
Hereditary Factors
Genetics play a strong role in developing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, which often starts in childhood, both parents must pass a gene for type 1 diabetes to their child for the child to be affected. Type 2 diabetes has a genetic component as well, but is compounded by environmental factors. If both parents have type 2 diabetes, the risk of developing the disease is 1 in 2, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). If the child has only one parent with the disease, the risk depends on their age at diagnosis: 1 in 7 if diagnosed before age 50, and 1 in 13 if diagnosed after 50. Having a sibling with the disease or being black, American Indian, Hispanic or Asian-American also raises the risk, Medline Plus states.
Medical Factors
Obesity, the number one risk for developing type 2 diabetes, is not a risk factor for type 1 diabetes. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of body weight reduces the chance of developing the disease in overweight people, the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) reports. Other medical issues that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes include high blood pressure and high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome and people with metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that include high blood pressure, excess weight around the waist and high insulin and cholesterol levels, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, the Mayo Clinic warns. The 57 million people in the United States with prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugars are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, are also at increased risk.
Lifestyle Factors
Inactivity is a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, especially when combined with obesity. The NDIC reports that in one study, exercising 30 minutes a day, five days a week reduced the risk by 58 percent, while people older than 60 years reduced their risk by 71 percent by exercising and losing 15 pounds over a year, on average.
Other Factors
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases in those over age 45, while type 1 diabetes normally develops in children and young adults. Women who have delivered babies that weigh 9 lbs. or more pounds, are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
