I ask this question because I’ve seen studies that say it can have implications for your arteries, but what i can’t seem to figure out is if:
It’s because there are correlating factors that, if controlled for, would eliminate this excess risk (for example, type 2s are more likely to be insulin resistant or have metabolic syndrome which effects heart risk)
OR
If by very definition just having the family history makes the very structure of our bodies different and more susceptible.
A third possibility…our relatives who died with Type 2 back in the olden days were misdiagnosed? During the 60’s my elderly aunt and grandmother (both on my German side of the family tree) both had diabetes that killed them and family lore says it was Type 2. But we read all the studies/articles that say 20+% of adult onset Lada or Type 1 is misdiagnosed as Type 2. This causes me to take the family lore with a grain of salt and question whether they had Type 2 or ??.
I’m 100% with you. For instance, in my family:
My grandmother got diabetes at 40, and until she was in her 70s they thought it was type 2. It was type 1.
My uncle got it in his 40’s and he is totally insulin dependent, they thought 2, it was 1
My cousin got it in her 30’s and has some function and was overweight, but COULD be type 1
My grandfather was 90 when he got type 2, so does that really mean much for my profile as a type 1?
How would this history have implications for me as a type 1?
With a family history of insulin resistant type 2 a person with autoimmune type 1 could have inherited the multiple genetic variants that cause cells to resist insulin when those cells need glucose.
This has been called double diabetes but I think the more accepted term is autoimmune type 1 diabetes with insulin resistance.
A possible symptom would be needing increasing TDD and maybe weight gain.
Great likelihood that your older relatives were misdiagnosed. I would not worry much about the unlikely effect of what they did or did not have. Each diabetes is unique and keeping yours under decent control should be your only concern. The rest you cannot control anyway.
Insulin resistance can be decreased by choosing to eat low carb foods.
In those olden days, the term was adult onset diabetes. My GM who passed the diabetes gene to me was more likely LADA/T1 than a real T2.