Is diabetes hereditary?

Diabetes is a hereditary disease. Not only is diabetes itself inherited, but it also makes you more susceptible to the diabetes gene, which is destructive to your own immune function. However, do not choose not to treat or get married and have children just because diabetes is hereditary. We can explain to you the relevant information about diabetes.

Is diabetes hereditary?

Diabetes is hereditary, but what is inherited is not diabetes itself, but the gene that makes you susceptible to diabetes. For example, type 1 diabetes mainly inherits genes that make the pancreas vulnerable to viral attacks and autoimmune destruction; type 2 diabetes inherits genes that make the insulin secretion function poor, prone to obesity, and then cause insufficient insulin secretion and insulin resistance. That is to say, if a person has diabetes, his children will not necessarily develop diabetes, but they are just more likely to develop diabetes than those whose parents do not have diabetes.

Diabetes can be divided into four types. The more common type 1 and type 2 diabetes are primary diabetes. Their occurrence mechanisms are very complex. There are two basic reasons: genetic factors and environmental factors. Diabetes is the result of the long-term combined effects of genetic and environmental factors. The genetic factors of diabetes are the genetic tendency to develop diabetes, but if a person only has this tendency to develop diabetes, he or she will not develop diabetes. The congenital factors plus the influence of many acquired environmental factors may eventually lead to the occurrence of diabetes. There are some differences between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

The inheritance of type 1 diabetes is related to human leukocyte antigens. People with certain types of human leukocyte antigens are more susceptible to damage to insulin by viruses or other poisons, which in turn makes them more susceptible to autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells, ultimately leading to the development of diabetes. The environmental factors that cause type 1 diabetes may be infection, especially viral infection. Therefore, the possible onset pattern of type 1 diabetes is as follows: patients who have certain pathogenic human leukocyte antigens accidentally suffer from a viral infection, which causes damage to the pancreatic beta cells and the inability to secrete insulin normally, resulting in the disease.

The genetic mechanism in the onset of type 2 diabetes is more complex. There have been many different opinions on the genetic issues of type 2 diabetes for a long time, and the most consistent one is the "thrifty" gene hypothesis. This hypothesis holds that the genetic genes that cause us to develop type 2 diabetes may be the same "thrifty" genes that once helped humans survive when they were often threatened by famine during human evolution. This gene is good at storing the energy of food in the form of fat when people get food in order to prepare for famine years. This was originally a life-saving gene that enabled humans to survive in adversity for a long time. However, today when people no longer have to worry about food and clothing, the "thrifty" gene has turned from a great contributor into a great problem. It can easily make people fat, induce high blood pressure and dyslipidemia, and can easily cause problems with the secretion and action of insulin, all of which will increase the risk of diabetes. Especially when there is a drastic change in lifestyle patterns and changes in genetic genes cannot keep up with changes in living standards, diabetes may become an epidemic due to the effect of "thrifty" genes. However, if you only have the "thrifty" gene, you will not necessarily develop type 2 diabetes. Environmental factors that lead to type 2 diabetes include obesity, smoking, excessive food intake, insufficient physical activity and various stress states, that is, excessive fatigue and mental stress.