Risk Factors for Type 1 Diabetes

by :: Karen Schroeder, MS, RD

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A risk factor is something that increases your likelihood of getting a disease or condition. It is possible to develop :: type 1 diabetes with or without the risk factors listed below. There are no known definite risk factors. However, the more risk factors you have, the greater your likelihood of developing type 1 diabetes. The main risk factors include the following:

Family History

If you have a parent, brother, or sister with type 1 diabetes, you (or your child) are at greater risk of having it, too. Scientists continue to believe that genetic factors play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, but which genes is unclear.

Autoimmune Conditions

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, caused by the body's immune system attacking the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. You may be at a greater risk of developing type 1 diabetes if you have another condition that affects the immune system, such as:

Ethnic Background

You are at an increased risk of type 1 diabetes if your ethnicity is:

  • Northern European
  • Mediterranean
  • African American
  • Hispanic

Other Risk Factors

Other factors that may increase your child's risk of type 1 diabetes include:

  • Bottle-feeding or short duration of breastfeeding
  • High birth weight
  • Mothers age at childbirth (over 35 years)

References:

American Diabetes Association website. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov .

Medical conditions. Diabetes: type 1. Risk factors. University of California Davis Health Center website. Available at: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. Accessed October 19, 2004.

Schatz D, Krischer J, Horne G, et al. Islet cell antibodies predict insulin-dependent diabetes in United States school age children as powerfully as in unaffected relatives. J Clin Invest. 1994;93:2403-2407.

TRIGR study: a new trial investigates environmental triggers in type 1 diabetes [press release]. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International website. Available at: http://www.jdrf.org. August 7, 2002. Accessed October 19, 2004.

3/12/2010 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php: Cardwell CR, Stene LC, Joner G, et al. Birthweight and the risk of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes: a meta-analysis of observational studies using individual patient data. Diabetologia. 2010 Jan 10. [Epub ahead of print]

3/12/2010 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php: Cardwell CR, Stene LC, Joner G, et al. Maternal age at birth and childhood type 1 diabetes: a pooled analysis of 30 observational studies. Diabetes. 2010;59(2):486-494.


Last reviewed August 2010 by :: B. Gabriel Smolarz, MD

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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