Risks

Note:  The following diabetes risks are quoted from the National Diabetes Fact Sheet:  National estimates and general information on diabetes in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA:  US Department of Health and Human Services, 1997):

Risk factors are less well defined for Type 1 diabetes than for Type 2 diabetes, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved in the developmennt of this type of diabetes.

Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.  African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently in African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and people with a family history of diabetes than in other groups.  Obesity is also associated with higher risk.  Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for later developing Type 2 diabetes.  In some studies, nearly 40% of women with a history of gestational diabetes developed dia betes in the future.

Risks for "Other specific types" of diabetes vary greatly and are closely associated with the causes.