Diabetes is one of the most widespread chronic health conditions worldwide. Untreated, it can cause severe damage to the body and lead to many complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, or amputations. Some risk factors can increase your chances of developing diabetes. Some of these risk factors can be changed, while others cannot.
Other risk factors for diabetes include family history, ethnicity, age, and a lack of physical activity. Close blood relatives of people with diabetes are at a greater risk of developing the condition. You can reduce your risk of diabetes by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding tobacco use. Completing an NHS Health Check can also check if you are at risk.
Some of risk factors of diabetes can be changed, while others cannot
Risk Factors of Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes is a serious health condition that can cause damage to blood vessels and nerves. It is a leading cause of heart attacks, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputations. Approximately 2 million deaths are linked to diabetes yearly, which is overgrowing in low- and middle-income countries.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes include family history, age, and ethnicity. Some risk factors are modifiable, meaning you can change them, such as weight, exercise, and smoking. Other risk factors are non-modifiable, meaning you cannot change them, such as genetics and race.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes are excessive thirst and urine, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and blurred vision. You may also have high glucose levels in your blood, called hyperglycemia. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause more severe symptoms, such as seizures and coma.
Risk Factors of Type 2 Diabetes
There are many risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing diabetes because the body stores fat in the abdomen rather than the hips and thighs. Waist circumference indicates belly fat and increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
People with a family history of type 2 diabetes are two to six times more likely to develop the condition themselves. It is also more common in certain ethnicities, including those of South Asian and African-Caribbean descent.
A person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes is higher if they have high blood pressure, which is even more common in those who smoke. A person's risk of developing diabetes also increases with age. To reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, people can eat healthily, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, and stop smoking.
Risk Factors of Prediabetes
A person is at risk of prediabetes when blood sugar levels are higher than average but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. If not treated, prediabetes can progress to type 2 diabetes, leading to severe complications. Some risk factors of prediabetes include:
- Family history: Having an immediate relative with diabetes increases your chances of developing the disease.
- Age: The older a person is, the greater their risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Obesity: Excess weight increases insulin resistance.
- Fat distribution: Storing most of the body's fat in the abdomen raises your risk for insulin resistance and prediabetes.
- Waist size: A large waist measurement is another sign of insulin resistance.
- Other conditions: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome, sleep disorders (such as apnea), and other health issues (high cholesterol or triglyceride levels) have an increased risk of prediabetes.
While you cannot change some of the risks of prediabetes, such as age or ethnicity, you can lower your risk by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, skinless poultry, fish, beans, non-tropical vegetable oils, and unsalted nuts and seeds. Regular physical activity also reduces your risk of developing prediabetes.
Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes
Women who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy are at an increased risk of getting the disease again in future pregnancies and are at a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. They should be screened regularly for prediabetes and diabetes.
Gestational diabetes raises your risk of high blood pressure and preeclampsia, which can put you and your baby at risk for complications during birth. It also increases the chance that your baby will be born with a higher-than-average weight.
These risks can be reduced by following a healthy diet, staying at an average weight, and exercising more than three times a week. Women with gestational diabetes should be screened for diabetes the year after delivery to determine their risk of getting the disease again.
Complications
Many diabetes risk factors can be modified, and doing so can reduce the chances of developing the disease. This is important because the condition can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. These include heart disease, stroke, eye damage, kidney failure, and loss of limbs. It also increases the likelihood of infections.
High blood sugar levels damage the walls of the small blood vessels that supply blood to nerves in the feet and legs (neuropathy). This can cause tingling, numbness, or pain that usually starts in the toes and fingers and spreads upward. It can also affect the nerves that control the actions of the stomach, intestines, and bladder. This can lead to digestive problems, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation; for men, it can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Over time, high blood sugar levels can lead to a buildup of fat in the arteries, which leads to cardiovascular disease. This can cause chest pain, heart attack, and stroke. People with diabetes are also at greater risk of peripheral artery disease - narrowing of the blood vessels in the arms and legs - which can cause foot ulcers, infections, and the need for amputation. Getting the blood glucose level and blood pressure in the target range can cut the risk of developing these complications by 40%. A 10-mm Hg decrease in blood pressure and a healthy cholesterol level can further reduce the risk by up to 50%.
Prevention
There is no way to prevent Type 1 diabetes. Still, people at risk for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes can significantly reduce their chances of developing the disease with medically supervised diet, exercise, and sleep changes. People can also take steps to avoid high blood pressure and cholesterol, which increase the risk of diabetes.
The best thing is to keep your weight within a healthy range and get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days of the week. Activity is even more critical for people with obesity because it improves insulin sensitivity and regulation of blood sugar. Keeping your waistline slim is also helpful - the classic "pear" shape has a lower risk of diabetes than the more common "apple" shape that tends to store fat around the belly.
Studies have shown that sedentary lifestyles are linked to an increased risk for diabetes. Try to break up your daily sedentary time by sitting less and walking more.
