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Risk Factors for Diabetes

List of Risk Factors for Diabetes

The list of risk factors mentioned for Diabetes in various sources includes:

• Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes (the majority of cases):
  • Obesity
  • Hypertension
  • High cholesterol
  • Race - certain races get higher rates
  • African Americans
  • Hispanic Americans
  • Mexican Americans
  • Native Americans
  • Family history of Type 2 diabetes
  • Genetics
  • Inactive lifestyle
  • Impaired glucose tolerance - IGT often progresses to Type 2 diabetes.
  • Previous history of gestational diabetes - gestational diabetes can lead to Type 2 diabetes; any of the possible effects of gestational diabetes are also risk factors:
    • Miscarriages in previous pregnancies
    • Stillbirth in previous pregnancy
    • Large baby in previous pregnancy
    • Birth defect in previous pregnancy

Risk factors discussion:

Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: NIDDK (Excerpt)

You are more likely to get type 2 diabetes if you are age 45 or older, are overweight, are inactive, or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. You are also at high risk if diabetes runs in your family or if you are African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander. However, you can take steps to reduce your risk of developing diabetes. (Source: excerpt from Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: NIDDK)

Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: NIDDK (Excerpt)

To find out your risk for type 2 diabetes, check each item that applies to you.

	I have a parent, brother, or sister with diabetes.
	My family background is African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander.
	I have had gestational diabetes or I gave birth to at least one baby weighing 9 pounds or more.
	I have been told that my blood glucose is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. In other words, I have impaired glucose tolerance or an impaired fasting glucose level.
	I am overweight. My weight is at least 20 percent higher than it should be for my height. (See the body mass index table .)
	I am fairly inactive. I exercise fewer than three times a week.
	My blood pressure is 140/90 or higher, or I have been told that I have high blood pressure.
	My cholesterol levels are not normal. My LDL cholesterol is higher than 100; my HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) is 35 or lower; or my triglyceride level is 250 or higher.

If you checked one or more boxes, you are at risk for type 2 diabetes. If you checked more than three boxes, your chances of getting diabetes are high. It is important to lower your risk by working on the factors under your control. (Source: excerpt from Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: NIDDK)

Diabetes Diagnosis: NIDDK (Excerpt)

People at High Risk for Diabetes The experts suggest that adults age 45 years and older be tested for diabetes. If their blood glucose is normal at the first test, they should be tested at 3-year intervals. People under age 45 should be tested if they are at high risk for diabetes. These high-risk factors include

• Being more than 20 percent above ideal body weight or having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than or equal to 27. BMI is the ratio of weight in kilograms to height in meters squared (kg/m2 ). (Your doctor or dietitian can provide information on your BMI.)

• Having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes.

• Being African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Pacific Islander American.

• Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or having diabetes during pregnancy.

• Having blood pressure at or above 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

• Having abnormal blood lipid levels, such as high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol less than 35 mg/dL or triglycerides greater than 250 mg/dL.

• Having abnormal glucose tolerance when previously tested for diabetes.

(Source: excerpt from Diabetes Diagnosis: NIDDK)

Diabetes: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Other things that can put you at higher risk for developing diabetes include:

• Being more than 20 percent above your ideal body weight

• Having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes

• Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or having diabetes during pregnancy

• Having high blood pressure (140/90 or higher)

• Having abnormal blood lipid levels, such as low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides

• Having abnormal glucose tolerance in an earlier diabetes test.

(Source: excerpt from Diabetes: NWHIC)

Risks factors for Diabetes: medical news summaries:

The following medical news items are relevant to risk factors for Diabetes:

• 52 percent of British people fear exercise for one reason or another
• 70 percent of people in India may have undiagnosed diabetes
• Agent Orange's long term toll
• Alzheimer's protein affected by body fat
• Avocado constituents may fight prostate cancer cell growth
• Babies harmed by mother's weighty issues
• Blood protein concentration may determine heart disease risk
• Bone problems for obese kids
• Children increasingly face adult diseases
• Children suffering adult disease
• Chronic pain in diabetics compromises level of self-care
• Comatose woman’s eye eaten by ants
• Common co-morbidities causing complications post-operatively
• Control of blood pressure improves memory
• Current trends in health
• Dementia risk factors determined
• Depression may increase diabetes risk
• Diabetes and colon cancer link
• Diabetes and risk reduction
• Diabetes and sugar level linked to risk of cancer death
• Diabetes exercise link
• Diabetes in children demanding education
• Diabetes increases eye problems
• Diabetes linked to smoking
• Diabetes reduced with caffeine
• Diabetes risk for mental illness patients
• Diabetes threat quenched by alcohol
• Diabetes: the simple facts
• Diabetic and complications
• Diabetic children need to use continuous glucose monitoring to achieve good control of their condition
• Diabetic eye problems
• Diabetic neuropathy causal link
• Diabetic women don't fare as well as diabetic men following a stenting procedure
• Diabetics are more prone to the potentially fatal bacteremia and sepsis
• Diabetics face greater rates of mortality and post-surgical complications following coronary bypass
• Diabetics need to be aware of possible complications
• Diabetics need to be more aware of benefits of aspirin
• Diet changes can benefit skin ulcer sufferers
• Dollars dictate diet
• Eating disorders can greatly increase the risk of complications in people with type 1 diabetes
• Erectile dysfunction
• Erectile problems treatment options
• Experimental weight-loss drug shows multitude of health benefits
• Eye management in diabetes
• Familial hypercholesterolemia
• Fast food diet linked to diabetes risk
• Fast food linked to weight increase and diabetes
• FDA warns consumers about dietary supplements that treat erectile dysfunction
• Flu vaccination recommended for children with conditions
• GI diet to assist cystic ovary disease
• Glaucoma awareness needs to be heightened in the Philippines
• Heart disease established from embryonic stage
• Heart disease influenced by poor oral hygiene
• Heart disease link to impotence
• Heat, a real killer
• High risk of stroke for diabetics
• HIV patients face increased risk of diabetes and dementia
• Hyperglycemia linked to increased mortality amongst critically ill patients
• Impotence and hypertension
• International research aims to determine if cow's milk increases risk of type 1 diabetes
• Kidney disease is a seriously underdiagnosed condition in Australia
• Long term effects of obesity surgery examined
• Long-term offspring health may be affected by mother's diet during pregnancy
• Lund disease may be linked to diabetes
• Magnesium has a preventative effect on type 2 diabetes
• MBL protein level linked to heart attack risk in diabetics
• Medication and hypertension
• More to diabetes diagnosis
• Mother allegedly withheld insulin from dead daughter
• Native Americans at significant risk for heart problems
• New diagnostic technique for pre-diabetes
• New Dietary Guidelines support numerous research results
• New Heart Disease risk factors
• New research suggests that low birth weight is not linked to increased risk of high cholesterol in adults
• New risk factors may be associated with cardiovascular disease risk
• Newborn size determined by level of sugar control in diabetic mothers
• Obesity also risk for cancer
• Obesity causing dramatic increase in diabetes
• Obesity increases risk of complications during pregnancy
• Obesity increasing the bottom line
• Obesity is associated with an increased risk of many conditions
• Obesity leads to liver disease
• Oral health and overall wellbeing
• Pancreas transplants improve diabetes and complications
• Pancreatic cancer surgery less common in black men
• Persistent pulmonary hypertension needs rapid diagnosis and treatment
• Plant protein may protect against some human diseases
• Pomegranate juice beneficial for developing brains
• Poor glucose control in teenage diabetics may compromise their bone formation
• Pregnant diabetics at higher risk for birth defects
• Prevention of osteoporosis in cystic fibrosis
• Prostate cancer recurrence linked to obesity
• Prostate cancer risk reduced in diabetics
• Prostate cancer risk reduced in patients with long term diabetes
• Pschological disorder incidence higher in diabetics
• Racial discrepancy with diet and breast cancer
• Rate of erectile dysfunction increases after a kidney transplant in men
• Red meat consumption linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes
• Restless leg influenced by lack of iron
• Rural blacks fare the worst with regards to diabetes and hypertension
• Scientists examine effects of lack of activity
• Scientists find exercise secrets in order to develop a pill to take the place of exercise
• Sensorimotor neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy from diabetes
• Similar risk factors for kidney infection and urinary tract infection
• Size of waist linked to diabetes
• Some antipsychotic drugs linked to increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Soy health benefits for your prostate
• Teenagers and cancer
• The whole body toll of high blood pressure
• Uncontrolled diabetes can have serious consequences
• Vioxx tended not to be used by targeted group
• Vitamin D essential for more than just bone health
• Warning signs of a heart attack
• Weighty issue for men
• More news »

About risk factors:

Risk factors for Diabetes are factors that do not seem to be a direct cause of the disease, but seem to be associated in some way. Having a risk factor for Diabetes makes the chances of getting a condition higher but does not always lead to Diabetes. Also, the absence of any risk factors or having a protective factor does not necessarily guard you against getting Diabetes. For general information and a list of risk factors, see the risk center.

 » Next page: Symptoms of Diabetes

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