What are the risk factors for Diabetes?

What are the risk factors for Diabetes?

Risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes include:

• Older age
• Obesity
• Family history of Diabetes
• Prior history of Gestational Diabetes
• Impaired glucose tolerance
• Physical inactivity
• Race/ethnicity

African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

Risk factors are less well defined for Type 1 Diabetes than for Type 2 Diabetes, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved in developing this type of Diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes occurs more frequently in African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and people with a family history of Diabetes than in other groups.

Obesity is also associated with higher risk. Women who have had Gestational Diabetes are at increased risk for later developing Type 2 Diabetes. In some studies, nearly 40% of women with a history of Gestational Diabetes developed Diabetes in the future.

Other specific types of Diabetes, which may account for 1% to 2% of all diagnosed cases, result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses.