No one in my family has Type 1 Diabetes. Nor my relatives. I randomly was diagnosed at the age of 7. Is Type 1 Diabetes not completely through genetics?
Hi Liana, I was diagnosed as an adult late onset and no one in my family has it either. I was told there is usually an autoimmune link- my grandfather had graves disease and my father has asthma and and raynauds- I have those 2 also mildly. I think if you have the possibility of it in your genetics and something triggers it like a virus that is what brings it out. Know one knows why really.
Basically, there's one gene that codes for autoimmune disorders. If you have that gene, then your family does. If your family has this gene, they're very likely to get autoimmune diseases. T1 is one of them, but it could be RA, Hashimoto's, MS, etc. That's also the reason why many people with T1 have more than just T1.
Also, likely doesn't mean definite. As Kristi said, there is a link to certain viruses, but without the propensity for autoimmune diseases, it won't happen.
For "civilians", this seems to be one of the confusion points between Type 1 & Type 2. Type 2 is strongly genetic, and when you tell someone you have Diabetes, they will often say "Does it run in your family?" When you say no, they are typically confused. My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 at 20 months old and 14 years later my son was diagnosed Type 1 at 22 years old. There is only one other person in my entire family that I know was Type 1 - a third cousin. No one in my wife's family. I agree with the other comments - there must be a genetic link to the possibility of an autoimmune disorder, but there are also many other factors and triggers that contribute to each specific case.
My brother and I are the only diabetics in our immediate family, none of our children, and not Mom or Dad. For years we said to our Doctors no one else had it. We found out many years later that we did in fact have many other distant relatives with insulin dependence, Ants, Uncles, they just did not talk about it. We had a Ant that kept a secret for 30 years that her daughter, our 1st cousin was a Type1. She even came and visited us and we never knew she was giving her Daughter our cousin injections. It's much more open now, in the old days Parents thought there children would be discriminated against,even buy distant family members, they where probably correct. We found out we had Uncles that never mentioned they where insulin dependent and there wifes only said somthing about it after they died.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 or LADA at age 30, with no family history. However I do have autoimmune diseases on both sides of my family and I was sick with viruses prior to be being diagnosed.
Yes, coxsackie b is another people have mentioned here. I guess we will never really know what caused it, but I think emotional stresses were what finally caused mine to become acute.
I saw a recent post on this. I had always been told Type 1 was hereditary, but began to believe it was just autoimmune disease from my research. I am the ONLY Type 1 on either side of my family, but there are a ton of Type 2s on both sides of this family. I am worried about my grandchildren. They think that keeping everyone slim and fit will deter problems, but...not Type 1.
After that post I did some research. Found this and still have issues with the findings, but it still stews in the back of my brain...
From the ADA
Thank you everyone for you replies to my question about genetics. I will look more into my family and relatives health history to figure this out. Thanks again everyone.
I'm the only one too. No diabetes whatsoever in fact in my entire family history.
I have two kids. So far no sign of anything.
The only link I can come up with is my Grandfather on my Dad's side had Parkinson's disease. But again, this is now thought to not be hereditary.
I guess that would be the one to be underlined, but really, who can say?
I also received no inoculations as a child. My Mother didn't believe in such things, and so the severe illness at early ages theory could also be questioned in my case. I had it all :)
I was dx'ed in 1984 and didn't have anyone else in my family either however a cousin materialized w/ T1 and another family member w/ T2 was dx'ed pretty recently. I have no idea what this means and perhaps there's environmental triggers. I was born in New Mexico in 1967 so I tell everyone it was radiation from atmospheric nuclear testing, like Spider-Man.
Diabetes sucks, but that spidey-sense you got along with it from the radiation's gotta be pretty cool... :-)