Until now, the causes and pathogenesis of diabetes have not been fully understood. Only found some pathogenic factors related to diabetes. The causes of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are completely different.
Factors related to type 1 diabetes:
Autoimmune system deficiency: Because a variety of autoimmune antibodies can be detected in the blood of patients with type 1 diabetes, such as glutamate decarboxylase antibody (GAD antibody), islet cell antibody (ICA antibody), etc. These abnormal autoantibodies can damage the insulin-secreting B cells of the human pancreatic islets, making them unable to secrete insulin normally.
Genetic factors: Current research suggests that genetic defects are the basis of type 1 diabetes. This genetic defect is manifested in the abnormality of the HLA antigen of the sixth pair of chromosomes in humans. Scientists’ research suggests: Type I diabetes is characterized by familial onset-if your parents have diabetes, you are more likely to develop this disease than people without this family history.
Viral infection may be the trigger: it may surprise you that many scientists suspect that the virus can also cause type 1 diabetes. This is because patients with type I diabetes often have viral infections for a period of time before the onset of disease, and the “epidemic” of type I diabetes often occurs after the virus epidemic. Viruses, such as those that cause mumps and rubella, and the Coxsackie family of viruses that can cause polio, can all play a role in type 1 diabetes.
Other factors: such as milk, oxygen free radicals, and some rodenticides. Scientists are studying whether these factors can cause diabetes.
Factors related to type 2 diabetes
Genetic factors: Similar to type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes also has the characteristics of family disease. So it is probably related to genetic inheritance. This genetic characteristic type 2 diabetes is more pronounced than type 1 diabetes. For example, if one of the twins has type 1 diabetes, the other has a 40% chance of developing the disease; but if it is type 2 diabetes, the other has a 70% chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
Obesity: An important factor in type 2 diabetes may be obesity. Genetic causes can cause obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes. Body-centered obese patients have excess fat concentrated in the abdomen, and they are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with fat concentrated in the hips and thighs.
Age: Age is also a contributing factor to type 2 diabetes. Half of patients with type 2 diabetes have the onset of disease after 55 years of age. The proneness of diabetes in elderly patients is also related to the tendency of older people to be overweight.
Modern lifestyle: Eating high-calorie food and reducing exercise can also cause diabetes. Some people think this is also caused by obesity. Obesity, like type 2 diabetes, is more common among Asian American and Latin American businessmen whose diet and activity habits have been “Westernized”.
Factors related to gestational diabetes
Hormonal abnormalities: During pregnancy, the placenta will produce a variety of hormones for fetal development and growth. These hormones are very important for the healthy growth of the fetus, but they can block the action of insulin in the mother’s body and cause diabetes. The 24th week to 28th cycle of pregnancy is the peak period of these hormones, and it is also the common time for gestational diabetes.
Genetic basis: Patients with gestational diabetes are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future (but not related to type 1 diabetes). Therefore, some people think that the genes that cause gestational diabetes and the genes that cause type 2 diabetes may be related to each other.
Obesity: Obesity is not only easy to cause type 2 diabetes, it can also cause gestational diabetes.
