Diabetes News Hound

Parents concerned about passing diabetes – both Type 1 and Type 2 – to their children should breathe a small sigh of relief, according to an article recently published by the Hartford Courant. That’s because while genes play a role in the in one’s predisposition to the two very different Type of diabetes, environmental factors actually trigger the diseases in individuals, according to the American Diabetes Association. While the exact cause of either Type 1 or Type 2 is not known, there are some things researchers know.

When developing Type 1 most people will inherit risk factors from both parents. However, the triggers are unclear, but some researchers hypothesize that cold weather, diet, stress or even a virus may serve as triggers. For men with Type 1, the chances of a child having Type 1 as well is 1 in 17, or about 5.9%. For women with type 1 giving birth prior to their 25^th birthday, the chances are about 1 in 25, or about 4%. However, those giving birth after 25 have odds of about 1 in 100, or 1%.

With Type 2, according to the Courant article, genes play a much bigger role. However, lifestyle, weight and eating habits also play a major factor. For parents with Type 2 the odds are much higher that your child will develop Type 2. In fact, if both parents have the disease, the chances of the child developing the disease are about 1 in 2, or 50%.

The chance of a child developing Type 2 is about 14.3% for parents diagnosed with the disease prior to the age of 50 years old. After that the chances drop to about 7.7%. And, some research suggests that the chances of the child developing the disease are higher when the mother has diabetes.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 11:19 am by Chris Frankie and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.