Genetics
Genetics frequently play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, and the risk of developing it increases if it is inherited from both parents.
Your risk of developing type 1 diabetes is about:
- 30 percent if both parents have it
- 3 to 8 percent if your biological father has it
- 1 to 4 percent if your biological mother has it
- 4 percent if neither parent has it
Certain genes linked to autoimmunity and insulin also can increase your risk of developing type 1 diabetes, Dr. von Herrath says, though these genetic mutations alone do not cause the condition.
“Too often, we see a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and it seems like there is no one else in the family with type 1,” von Herrath says. “But then you start testing the parents or grandparents for autoantibodies and discover they test positive for two or three autoantibodies. It simply never progressed to stage 3 with symptoms and the need for daily insulin therapy.”
Von Herrath also says that at least 10 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes likely have type 1 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), a very slow developing form of type 1 diabetes that can be easily mistaken for type 2 diabetes for years.
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