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by: JuliaHanf
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The causes of diabetes are complex and only partly understood. Complicating the picture even further is the fact that there are multiple types, each with its own risk factors. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are the most common, encompassing about 97% or more of cases in the U.S. Each results from a combination of environmental and genetic influences.

Type 2 diabetes is by far the most prevalent, accounting for 90% of all cases.

The major cause of Type 2 is believed to be obesity. Obesity stems from a combination of heredity factors and lifestyle choices, making it an excellent prototype for a diabetes' risk factor. Although exercise and diet are choices, some people are more prone to gain weight than others and other people can lose weight more easily than others can.

Obesity and genetics are not the only factors for diabetes.

Gestational diabetes (diabetes that occurs during pregnancy) can add to your future risk of Type 2 diabetes, even though the condition disappears after delivery. Approximately 40 % of women who experience gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes. Usually this happens 5-10 years after they give birth. Large babies indicate a greater risk of diabetes for the mother.

An intolerance of glucose is another factor influenced by genetics. It is logical that glucose intolerance is a contributing factor to Type 2, because this form of diabetes stems from an insufficient use of insulin, rather than a lack of insulin (like Type 1). It is strange that glucose intolerance exists, because glucose in the body's major energy source. Abnormal genes can make strange situations.

Though the reasons are not completely clear, ethnicity is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. Regardless of lifestyle factors, Africans, Latin Americans, Aboriginals, and some Asian groups are at higher risk. According to a one Canadian study, the incidence in these groups may be twice the incidence rate in Caucasians. Strangely, Caucasians are at the highest risk for Type 1 diabetes.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is yet another risk factor. Blood pressure is influenced by genetic factors as well as exercise and diet. The correlation between high blood pressure and the development of diabetes is strong. High cholesterol levels also increase the risk. More than 40% of diabetics have high blood cholesterol levels.

But simple family medical circumstance is probably the largest genetic risk factor.

An individual with a parent or sibling who has Type 1 diabetes has him or herself a risk 10-20 times higher than average. For a newborn baby with a parent who has Type 1 diabetes the odds are 1 in 25, or 4% if the mother gives birth before age 25. Over age 25, the risk is 1%, about the same as the general population. The odds rise again to about 10% if either parent contracted diabetes before age 11.

The genetic risk factors of contracting diabetes are still an active area of research. Fortunately, while in generations past there was nothing one could do to influence them, modern genetic treatments hold out promise of altering even these odds.