Risk Factors of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

The presence of antibodies directed against beta cell antigens or molecules is a significant risk factor for the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the beta cells that produce insulin the pancreas. The attack causes permanent damage and leaves the pancreas unable to produce insulin. If the pancreas isn’t working they it should, or the body can’t use the insulin it makes, the blood sugar levels get too high, and diabetes occurred. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is usually diagnosed before the age of 40, although occasionally people have been diagnosed later after an illness causes an immune response that triggers it. Ethnic minorities have a higher prevalence of type 1 diabetes than non-minority individuals. Environmental factors playing a role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus may differ substantially from population to population. More specifically, disease incidence in one geographical area may differ from another because of different exposures to a given risk factor or because of difference between population genetic susceptibilities to that risk factor.