Type 1 - Is it genetic?

[dwibley]

I have a quite a large extended family and besides my great aunt who had type 2 diabetes in her elder years I am the only one with type 1 which I have had since childhood.

The physician at the time of my diagnosis told my parents that he believed it was hereditary and that any children that I had in the future would have a 50/50 chance of getting the disease as a child.

Consequently I have had four children and two grandchildren and they are all free of diabetes so far.

 

[Geri]

Two of my cousins have daughters with type 1, one diagnosed aged 2 and the other age 7, I was diagnosed aged 8 in 1970 and also have other auto immune conditions (poly glandular disorder). I was the first in our known family history to get diagnosed and my brother has no problems at all with his health. It seems to have affected girls in our extended family!
I thought links with genetics with Type 1 was unusual but reading posts in this thread it seems to be fairly common.

 

[annettekp]

My 4 year old is type 1. Great granny had 2 siblings with type 1 one who died as a child. Coming down the family tree there are T1 s all over the place. But because no parents and children in the same family have it we were told there wasn't a genetic link but with so many how can there not be? There are no diabetics on the other side at all.

 

[Beanpole]

I'm one of six children and two of us have type1. My sister was diagnosed at 6 and myself at 18. We both also have other autoimmune disorders like hypothyroidism, coeliac disease, antibody deficiency and rheumatoid arthritis. Whilst other family members have the other conditions we are the only two with diabetes

As we are a large sibling group we took part in genetic research about 15 years ago. This identified genes that were associated with diabetes and wether we were carrying them but they stressed it still needed an unknown environmental trigger.

 

[nickyjayne]

I was diagnosed 23yrs ago, with type 1, my mother was diagnosed with type 1,when she was 15 she is now 71, my sister is type2, she was diagnosed 7yrs ago. My mum's elder sister was diagnosed 10yrs ago, she is type 1, my mother's mum was type 2 for many yrs, and mother's dad was type 2 for many yrs, my mother's elder brother was type 2 for many yrs, my mum' s younger sister and brother are both type 2 for many yrs, as so is my aunty's daughter for the past 7yrs. :roll: so I do think there is a link in my family......but I have 3 grown up children and it is a nightmare for me, to sit back and watch and wait, just in case.......my daughter has early signs of nuropathy in her hands, my mother has lost her leg due to nuropathy, and some sever complications of diabetes.

 

[Anonymous]

I was diagnosed type 1 in November 17th 1975, i was age 4.

There is no one else in the family with it.
Again it just bad luck on my behalf.

thank you Jesus Christ for giving me the most offal dieses out there that I have to put up with for the rest of my life, :evil:

 

[maria030660]

hi,

yes it is genetic, my daugther is also a type 1 and they found the same gene that triggers type 1 in my grandchilderen (twin boys of 2 years old from my son who is not a diabetic). They are monitored closely at the moment but it could be that only one of the twins get it, both get it or both dont get it at all.

 

[Jayno]

I've been type 1 diabetic for 41 years . I was diagnosed shortly after I contracted measles age 2. No one in my family is type 1 or type 2!

 

[Cobra3164]

From what I have learnt so far the majority of type 1 is genetic. As for myself it was lifestyle, approx 5 weeks ago I was admitted to hospital with pancreatitis the result of this being than nearly all of the beta cells in my pancreas were destroyed due to this illness. It was my fault I had been drinking moderate to high amounts of alcohol (Man I loved my beer). My GP explained to me that some peoples bodys are more vunerable to drink and therefore alcohol is more poisonus to them. Since my bout of pancreatitis I have given up drink altogether and had to reduce my fat intake. So in answer to the question the majority is genetic but sometimes it is self inflicted.

All the best

Simon aka Cobra3164

 

[daisybell]

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Other members of your family may have autoimmune disease e.g hypothyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, Lupus, celiac etc

 

[Caleyjen]

In my family T1 diabetes is as common as red hair! My mother (63 years now on insulin) her brother (again over 60yrs) me, two cousins and another cousins son. When I was diagnosed 26 years ago the doctor suggested there was no hereditary link.

 

[Unjustified]

I was diagnosed T1 at the age of 7, with no member of my family having diabetes. I can go back 4 generations that i know for sure, on both my father and mothers side with no signs, but I have been part of a clinical trial studying diabetes and genetics. Ive been told that T1 is genetic, and my father is a carrier, although just because he has the gene, it doesnt mean he will 100% become a diabetic.

Hope this helps,

James

 

[Hali]

I was diagnosed type 1 20 years ago at age 10. My elder sister was diagnosed 25 years ago at age 7. And I have an uncle on my fathers side diagnosed type 1. It is supposedly very rare to have siblings diagnosed because type1 is an auto-immune disease. So there definitely are genetics involved even though my parents and grandparents do not have D.

I have used insulin injections for years and then moved to the MiniMed Pump, then the OmniPod Pump. So if you have any questions that I can help with please let me know - I know having your daughter diagnosed so young can be overwhelming.

 

[Garthion]

My family has a long history of Diabetes, both T1 and T2, my Maternal Great Grand mother was T1, so was my Nan (Mother's Mother) I have an Aunt and Uncle with T1 on my Mother's side, I believe that there was a T1 on my Father's side but not too sure. I myself was diagnose just before my 18th birthday in 2000 following a nasty infection over the previous Christmas.
My Mother was diagnosed T2 5 years ago, the first in the family with T2, so not genetic with her.

 

[daisybell]

Yes I do. My mother had Type 1. Diagnosed when she was 42. I was diagnosed when I was 38. Both my brother and sister and myself have hypothyroidism. My paternal grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis. Both my paternal aunts had hypothyrodism as did my mother and her sister.

All the aforementioned conditions are auto-immune. Therefore, it is not my fault that I have a genetic condition.

 

[pumppimp]

Hi,
I've had type 1 for 14 years and am the only one in my family that has it. i took part in a study when i was newly diagnosed by queens belfast and the results showed that there was only a 1% more chance for someone to get it if someone else in your family had it. 1% isn't significant enough to link anything as stats goes, but that doesn't mean that there isn't something genetic just that it hasn't been found yet. It would be interesting if people could link the timing of diagnoses with any other illnesses, life stresses, or body changes eg periods starting, or completely out of the blue and then link if anyone in your family has it and if you know anything about when they were diagnosed. that way it might be easier to link up with who are the people that would most likely have a genetic link.

 

[jopar]

It can be genetic but there again it can't..

If a parent is T1 then their is a slightly higher risk of children becoming diabetic, having a diabetic father pre-disposals you to a slightly higher risk than having a diabetic mother. In twins if one's got it then the other has a something like 15% higher risk (I have got it written down somewhere) of getting it than other siblings.

There is no history in my family of any diabetes of either type, and evidence within our Family Tree suggests there's never been any diabetes. My family is quite large 9 children in total, me and my twin sister are the youngest (she isn't diabetic) I've been diagnosed for 24 years, and now a great-great Aunty, as yet non of the younger generations have been diagnosed, I have 3 children all young adults and none have been diagnosed, My youngest daughter had her first child my first grandchild and she didn't even have a hint of insulin resistance through her pregnancy..

But strangely though, my grandson for the first couple of days after he was born were abnormally low! but it has righted itself, he's no almost 6 weeks old doing fine.. But way to early to say whether he might have my rouge diabetic gene..

 

[Robinredbreast]

It can be genetic but there again it can't..

If a parent is T1 then their is a slightly higher risk of children becoming diabetic, having a diabetic father pre-disposals you to a slightly higher risk than having a diabetic mother. In twins if one's got it then the other has a something like 15% higher risk (I have got it written down somewhere) of getting it than other siblings.

There is no history in my family of any diabetes of either type, and evidence within our Family Tree suggests there's never been any diabetes. My family is quite large 9 children in total, me and my twin sister are the youngest (she isn't diabetic) I've been diagnosed for 24 years, and now a great-great Aunty, as yet non of the younger generations have been diagnosed, I have 3 children all young adults and none have been diagnosed, My youngest daughter had her first child my first grandchild and she didn't even have a hint of insulin resistance through her pregnancy..

But strangely though, my grandson for the first couple of days after he was born were abnormally low! but it has righted itself, he's no almost 6 weeks old doing fine.. But way to early to say whether he might have my rouge diabetic gene..

After having my daughter 12 years old.I was told by my then, diabetes doctor, at the hospital that a child of a type 1 parent is NOT at the higher risk end of getting Type 1, but if I was Type 2, then the risk would be greater, this was actually told to me. There are 2 Type1's still alive in the family,I am one of them and 2 type 1's, deceased ( there could be others, still alive in other parts of the world that I don't know about)

Best wishes RRB

 

[micksmixxx]

I have a younger brother with type 1. He was diagnosed at about 18 months of age, I didn't develop it until I was 21.

I also have a cousin that's type 1, who has a father with type 1.

It is generally believed that there MAY be a genetic component that gives a predisposition to the development of type 1 diabetes, but the 'trigger' for the onset is believed to be that it MAY actually be down to some sort of virus. (Coxsackie-B MAY be the virus, but there are all sorts of theories, and other viruses MAY be the 'guilty party'. Another being something in cows milk.)

I must admit that after hearing of the supposed genetic risk I used to regularly check both of my now adult sons as they were growing up. Both of them are now in their 30s, and remain clear of diabetes.

 

[torheedamy]

As far a I know I am the only person in my family who has T1 diabetes, I know I have aunts and uncles who have T2 all on the same side of the family are the aunts and uncles who have T2.