Causes of diabetes

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic condition in which the sugar levels in blood are increased. This happens either due to insufficiency of insulin or because the receptors on the cells do not respond to the present insulin.

There are the two types of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is basically an autoimmune disease. In this type of the disease the specific antibodies attack and destroy β cells of the pancreas and this organ cannot produce insulin any more. The occurrence of this type of diabetes mellitus happens in people who are genetically prone to the disease and in those who are undernourished. Sometimes certain viral infections can be triggers for diabetes type 1.

Unlike type 1 which is common to break out in childhood type 2 diabetes mellitus or non insulin-dependent insulin is most common in adults. Overweight people are affected most.

Causes of Diabetes Mellitus

There is a variety of causes that can lead to this disease. This means that not only the people who possess genetic predisposition can get diabetes mellitus but this disease can affect all those who are suffering from additional illnesses, are taking certain medications and so on.

The first group consists of people who inherited the genes from the parents. These people are highly susceptible and most likely to develop diabetes mellitus. The risk is even greater if both parents suffer from diabetes mellitus. Older people are more prone to the disease than young ones. This may be connected to the gradual lost of pancreas function.

Improper and insufficient diet is another predisposing factor. Namely people who are undernourished tend to develop diabetes more than general population. Even improper dietary regimes such as those rich in refined products and lacking in proteins and fibers may result in diabetes. Overweight people carry a risk of insulin resistance. Obese people usually develop type 2 diabetes. If body mass index surpasses 25 the person is at increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus.

Those whose lifestyle is not enriched with exercise and regular sport activities especially those who spent a lot of time in office and then the rest of the day spend in watching television are potential victims of diabetes. Sedentary lifestyle is dangerous as not only may the person develop diabetes but he/ she becomes prone to other illnesses.

Stress is present in every day life. It is no wonder that the stress can also be the trigger of this horrible disease.

If a person is suffering from some other illness and takes certain medications long enough the medications can be a cause of diabetes. Most common medications that lead to diabetes are corticosteroids. However there are many drugs with diabetes inducing potentials.

Some infective agents can lead to damage of the pancreas and consequent diabetes.

Some studies have point on the potential connection of increased blood pressure and diabetes.

And finally, high triglycerides and cholesterol are mostly accompanied with high level of sugar in blood. Still the precise connection of this phenomenon has not been established yet.