Inheritance

[Natalie Vickers]

Hi I am doing a science project on school about Diabetes and I have a few questions if you would all be kind enough to help answer them ..

okay then

my mother has type 1 diabetes she got it a couple of months after she gave birth to my little brother ..

what are the chances of me and my little brother getting diabetes / and what type ?

thankyou for your help .. quick answers would be greatly appreciated

 

[jopar]

A slightly increased risk than the normal person...

I think that it's around the 1-200 chance for a normal person

How ever if your father had T1 diabetes then this would increase the risk..

If both parents are diabetic then the chance increases around 1-25

This is for T1, I'm not sure about T2 diabetes side of it..

 

[shedges]

I read a statistic that stated: the child of a couple, where one is diabetic, has a 6% chance of being diabetic - so that is approximately 1 in 17 chance.

 

[fergus]

I think you're right, shedges. Katherine recently posted a similar statistic, 1 in 17.

Having said that of course there must be cases where inheritance plays a larger part than others. It's only anecdotal, but a T1 friend of mine has a sister and father both with T1. No-one but me has had any form of diabetes in our family, but I have 4 sons who must have inherited an increased risk because they didn't choose their father very well.

If it is contracted virally, then inheritance may have little to do with it, whereas if it's autoimmune, inheritance may play a much stronger role. Where the two combine, it gets more confusing still....

All the best,

fergus

 

[DiabeticSkater]

My father was diagnoised aged 3 in 1953 and I was diagnoised aged 3 in 1979. my brother is not diabetic. that would be 50/50 or even chances then. Neither of my fathers parents are diabetic.
Working in the gaming industry for over ten years I would say that odds should not be really taken literally becuase its just a way of working out profit in a gambling enviroment. And doesnt really mean anything in the real world.

 

[blackbird]

I think inheritance does play a part in type 1. I'm type 1, my youngest son is also type one, and my sister's son is type 1.

 

[LittleSue]

As I understand things, type 1 needs a combination of genetic and another (possibly viral) factor. Having the genes for type 1 doesn't mean you'll definitely get it, your immune system needs to be triggered by something to destroy your beta-cells.

There's a genetic component to type 2 as well but different gene variations are involved. So if really lucky (not) you could inherit both types of genes and develop both types of diabetes.

 

[hanadr]

there are several causes for type 1 diabetes. If you have a gene for the tendency, there still needs to be a trigger, which is environmental. diabetes is definitely NOT inherited in the same way as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease.
type 2 diabetes is a different condition with similar symptoms and outcomes. It too has a strong familial tendency. I'm the third in a line of women in my family, but none of our other relatives has it.
there's probably not much of a link between type 1 and type 2
It's not an ideal condition to do a school project on. there's not a lot of evidence and the variation is huge.

 

[Orchid]

I am really new to this forum and this is my first post so first of all Hi!!

I wish I knew what was going on in my family! My dad was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 18 back in the 1950s. I got it when I was 9 years old, my brother got it when he was 9 years old also, both my children (a boy and a girl) got it when they were 9 years old and my brothers little girl got it when she was 9 years old.

 

[Stuboy]

neither of my parents have diabetes. But my grandad on my mothers side had type 1. and my uncle on my mothers side recently got diagnosed with type 2.

 

[TROUBR]

Hi

None of my blodd relatives have any form of diabetes. My mums cousins husband had type 1 and lived until he was 86 so I ma hoping that eve though he was not a blood relative the same might be possible for me!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that my 4 year old son doesn't get it - but it took me until I was 38 so I might have to wait a while before I know!

Interestingly though my sister has epliepsy so there must be a family fault gene thing going on somewhere!

Louise

 

[suzi]

Hi Natalie,
Not sure if this will help, My Aunt on my mothers side has Type 1 diabetes, she was diagnosed at the age of 35yrs, my son was diagnosed T1 at the age of 7yrs old, 3 yrs ago. On the other hand my Grandmother on my mothers side had asthma, my mother had asthma, i have asthma and my 12yr old son has asthma, which would prove it does run in families and has a genetic link. Perhaps that would be a better science subject to follow.
Good luck
Suzi x