Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : May 7, 2020 8:09 PM IST
Obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, an unhealthy diet and smoking are risk factors of this condition. @Shutterstock
Diabetes is a common condition that has assumed epidemic proportions today. There are three types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational. In type 1 diabetes, your body is unable to produce insulin. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body is not able to use insulin properly. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and it may be a temporary condition. Though, this disease is genetic and you are likely to get it if you have a close family member who suffers from it, there are many other factors too that can cause it. Here, let us look at a few risk factors of this disease.
Type 1 diabetes is genetic. According to the American Diabetes Association, if a father has this condition, there is a 1 in 17 chance of his child developing it too. On the other hand, if a mother has this condition, then the child has a 1 in 25 chance of developing it if she was younger than 25 years when she had her child. If her child was born after she turned 25, then the child has a 1 in 100 chance of developing this disease. Moreover, if both parents have this condition, the child will have a 1 in 10 and 1 in 4 chance of developing this disease. In the case of type 2 diabetes too, if one parent has this disease, then your risk goes up considerably. Type 2 diabetes is often the result of unhealthy lifestyle habits. So, another factor may be living in a family that is not too health conscious.
If you live in a cold place, you may be at a greater risk of type 1 diabetes. Experts are perplexed by this and they are trying to find out why this happens. Moreover, most diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is made during the winter months. Nobody has any explanation for this and scientists are trying to figure out why this happens. Air pollution may also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, is not affected by lifestyle. But your habits have a big impact on the development of type 2 diabetes. Obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, an unhealthy diet and smoking are risk factors of this condition.
There are some health conditions that may increase your chances of type 2 diabetes. The skin condition acanthosis nigricans, hypertension and high cholesterol levels increase your risks significantly. You may also be at higher risk if your triglyceride levels are 250 or above. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is also another condition that increase your risk factor. Moreover, if you experienced gestational diabetes, this too will increase your chances of developing the disease later on in life.
Many studies have shown that people of some ethnicities are prone to type 2 diabetes. There is a higher incidence of this condition among African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans. Even native Americans and Pacific Islanders are more prone to this disease. But now, thanks to increasing obesity among populations across the world and unhealthy lifestyles, people of other ethnicities are also falling prey to this disease.
