Causes of Diabetes Type 1

The causes of diabetes type 1 take many forms, from environmental to autoimmune. Type-1 diabetes mellitus is sometimes known as juvenile diabetes or IDDM which is short for “Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus,” given that the individual has to be treated by using supplemental insulin shots.

This is as a result of damage of the beta cells within the pancreas that manufactures the hormone insulin. When these have been killed off your pancreas won’t be able to generate insulin anymore and therefore it will have to be supplied through injections.

Autoimmune

One of the primary causes of diabetes type 1 is autoimmune. As a result of autoantibodies targeting the beta cells inside the pancreas, they will cease to function. The amount of beta cells you have may very well be normal when you are born, however months or even years following your birth the production of autoantibodies begins to destroy them.

The amount of time it takes for them to be destroyed will vary from person to person. Over 95% of all patients having type 1 diabetes acquire this condition by the time they are 25 years old. The beginning of type 1 diabetes comes upon you very quickly, it usually only takes a few days or weeks to develop.

The main characteristic of type 1 diabetes is the resulting destruction of greater than 80% of the beta cells within the pancreas. It can continue to provide the hormone insulin if at least 20% of these cells are still intact and functioning, but if the number falls below 20% that is when an individual begins to develop the symptoms of diabetes.

Heredity

Genetics may also be one of the causes of diabetes type 1 although the association is not as strong as it is with type 2 diabetes. The existence of type 1 diabetes within both individuals of a set of identical twins, runs somewhere between thirty percent and seventy percent which suggests that there is likely a connection to hereditary factors.

The possibility of acquiring type 1 variety diabetes is ten times greater for those who have a 1st degree relative having type 1 diabetes. In the event your mother or father has this form of diabetes the chance of you or your siblings acquiring it is anywhere from five percent to fifteen percent.

However, it should be noted that the majority of individuals who actually get type 1 diabetes don’t have any previous history of this disease within their family.

Environmental factors

A number of environmental factors also have been suggested as one of the causes of diabetes type 1 although this has not been proven conclusively. The key reason why it’s so difficult to identify an environmental factor as one of the contributing causes is simply because the factor may have preceded the occurrence of diabetes by a number of years.

Some likely environmental causes of diabetes include things such as viruses (like coxsackie and the rubella viruses) or possibly some specific protein found in cow’s milk.

Other factors

Factors which harm or perhaps damage the pancreas, including pancreatitis, pancreatic surgical treatment or specific industrial chemical substances can also be causes of diabetes. Rare genetic conditions like Klinefelter syndrome, Huntington’s chorea and Cushing syndrome may also increase the chance for diabetes.

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