“With a family history of type 2 diabetes, is my daughter at a risk of juvenile diabetes?”
My daughter is 3 years old and I see she has a sweet tooth. I am very worried because on my husband's side everyone is diabetic. Will my daughter be at a risk of diabetes too? Are there any precautions I can take aside from developing healthy habits?
8 Answers
No, not juvenile, but rather type 2 diabetes which occurs earlier and earlier as kids become fat and stay inactive.
So, no other precautions, just make sure she is physically active and restrict sodas and other carbs, white starches.
So, no other precautions, just make sure she is physically active and restrict sodas and other carbs, white starches.
Type 2 diabetes has a genetic and environmental factor. The genetic inheritance risk will always be there. Maintaining a healthy weight through life will help her prevent Type 2 diabetes . Juvenile diabetes is also known as Type 1 diabetes. This has no environmental factors, meaning that even if she eats lots of sugar trough life she won’t develop this type of diabetes. Eating too much sugar is never good. At her age she can develop cavities.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease; the body produces a protein called an antibody, which then can destroy the insulin producing Beta Cells of the pancreas. There is in people with type 1 diabetes chromosomal gene changes, which increase the ability of the antibodies produced in the auto immune process to destroy the insulin producing Beta Cells. Type 2 diabetes is not due to an auto immune process. Type 2 diabetes is usually related to the effect of obesity in bringing out the genetic tendencies inherited such as insulin tissue resistance in the presence of a reduction in the ability of the Beta Cells of the pancreas to produce insulin raising the blood sugar. It is very complicated.
Marvin A Leder, MD FACP FACE
Marvin A Leder, MD FACP FACE
She has the same risk for type I as the rest of the population
No, totally different.
Juvenile diabetes is a random genetic mutation, insignificant risk from parents.
Family history does increase risk for type 2 diabetes and not juvenile diabetes which is typically described as type 1 diabetes due to autoimmunity. We have seen increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in children as well which has been linked to obesity. Healthy lifestyle and making good food choices are great to develop for your daughter and family as whole.
Diabetes is inherited via recessive genes so she must get a gene from each parent. So diabetes in one side of the family and not in the other does not increase the chance of diabetes. So if dad has diabetes or is a carrier of the gene, he could pass that gene on to the child but if chid gets a normal gene from you, the child is a carrier but should not have diabetes. The problem is are you a carrier? If so the child COULD get diabetes. For those having the genes, there are environmental factors that can influence development of he disease. For Type 1 DM, viral infections & other as yet unidentified factors may influence development. For Type 2 DM diet & wt control are important. So do watch diet & limit sweets. We all have a sweet tooth we must control as this may cause other problems as well (tooth decay, etc.) So watch that & do not let the child become obese as that increases chance of diabetes, heart disease & some cancers.
