Diabetes is a chronic, insidious disease on the rise in the community. Among its many debilitating complications are heart and vascular disease, kidney disease and eye disease. It is important to understand who is at risk of the complications of diabetes, and discover ways to mitigate the effects of the disease.
Diabetes + Smoking = Trouble
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause if avoidable death world over, and it accounts for almost 500,000 deaths a year. Smoking plays a role in one out of every five deaths in the World per year. Where the health of diabetic smokers is concerned, the statistics are even worse. There is an increased risk of premature death and the development of heart disease in patients who have diabetes and continue to smoke. There is also evidence that links cigarette smoking with microvascular disease (kidney and eye damage) in diabetes. Additionally, there is data that shows that smoking may actually play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Causes
Type 1 diabetes: Type 1 diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune disease. The body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.
· A predisposition to develop type 1 diabetes may run in families, but genetic causes (a postitive family history) is much more common for type 2 diabetes.
· Environmental factors, including common unavoidable viral infections, may also contribute.
· Type 1 diabetes is most common in people of non-Hispanic, Northern European descent (especially Finland and Sardinia), followed by African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. It is relatively rare in those of Asian descent.
· Type 1 diabetes is slightly more common in men than in women.
Type 2 diabetes: Type 2 diabetes has strong genetic links, meaning that type 2 diabetes tends to run in families. Several genes have been identified and more are under study which may relate to the causes of type 2 diabetes. Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include the following:
· High blood pressure
· High blood triglyceride (fat) levels
· Gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
· High-fat diet
· High alcohol intake
· Sedentary lifestyle
· Obesity or being overweight
· Ethnicity, particularly when a close relative had type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes: certain groups, such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Japanese Americans, have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
· Aging: Increasing age is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Risk begins to rise significantly at about age 45 years, and rises considerably after age 65 years.
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