Risk Factors for Type 2 diabetes

List of Risk Factors for Type 2 diabetes

The list of risk factors mentioned for Type 2 diabetes in various sources includes:

• Obesity
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Race - certain races get higher rates
• African Americans
• Hispanic Americans
• Mexican Americans
• Native Americans
• Family history of Type 2 diabetes - but there is no extra risk of Type 2 diabetes from a family member with Type 1 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.

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.

Risks factors for Type 2 diabetes: medical news summaries:

The following medical news items are relevant to risk factors for Type 2 diabetes:

• Agent Orange's long term toll
• All about obesity
• Aspirin may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes in obese people
• Babies harmed by mother's weighty issues
• Blood protein concentration may determine heart disease risk
• Childhood blood pressure linked to adult heart disease
• Children increasingly face adult diseases
• Children suffering adult disease
• Dementia more prevalent in black Americans
• Diabetes and risk reduction
• Diabetes exercise link
• Diabetes linked to smoking
• Diabetes reduced with caffeine
• Diabetes threat quenched by alcohol
• Diabetes: the simple facts
• Diabetics face greater rates of mortality and post-surgical complications following coronary bypass
• Eating for your health
• Facts on Gestational Diabetes
• Fast food diet linked to diabetes risk
• Kidney disease goes in hand with obesity
• Long-term offspring health may be affected by mother's diet during pregnancy
• Magnesium has a preventative effect on type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome mechanism defined
• More to diabetes diagnosis
• Obesity causing dramatic increase in diabetes
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension predicts metabolic syndrome in later life.
• Pregnant diabetics at higher risk for birth defects
• Prostate cancer risk reduced in patients with long term diabetes
• Red meat consumption linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes
• Sensorimotor neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy from diabetes
• Size of waist linked to diabetes
• Some antipsychotic drugs linked to increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Syndrome X in children
• Uncontrolled diabetes can have serious consequences
• WHO concerned with increase incidence in stroke and heart disease
• Whole grain diet wards off heart disease
• More news »

About risk factors:

Risk factors for Type 2 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 Type 2 diabetes makes the chances of getting a condition higher but does not always lead to Type 2 diabetes. Also, the absence of any risk factors or having a protective factor does not necessarily guard you against getting Type 2 diabetes. For general information and a list of risk factors, see the risk center.

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