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Causes of Diabetes in Children
Diabetes is increasingly becoming a common health issue in both children and adults. Most children, who suffer from diabetes, are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In this type of diabetes, the pancreas is unable to produce the necessary amounts of insulin needed to process the sugar, causing an increase in the amount of sugar in the blood serum.
The causes of diabetes in children, though not many, are quite specific. Here are some of the causes of diabetes in children:
Viruses as cause of diabetes
It is not common for children to develop diabetes due to viruses. However, it has been seen that viral infections like mumps and measles, which are quite common amongst children, have been responsible for the development of diabetes later on in their life. Polio and rubella are other infections that have been associated with diabetes. The children who have a history of diabetes in their family are more prone to developing it.
Heredity
One of the commonest causes of diabetes in children and adults is the family history of the disease. Though diabetes mellitus is usually associated with environmental factors, in children, it could also stem from genetic material inherited from the family. It is estimated that if both the children’s parents suffer from diabetes type I, the child has a one in four to a one in ten chance of developing the disease. However, if both parents have diabetes type II, the child’s chances of inheriting it become one in two.
Food Allergies as cause of diabetes
Food allergies are also one of the common causes of diabetes in children. Children, who have a genetic susceptibility to develop diabetes, can develop the disorder if fed on cow’s milk instead of breast milk, during their infancy.
During the development stage, infants’ immunity is not very developed. The antigens present in cow’s milk can trigger an autoimmune response that attacks the tissues systematically and affects the production of insulin in the pancreas.
Environmental Causes
Environment of a child plays a very marked role in the development of the child – both physical and mental. Environmental factors similarly have a deep impact on whether a child will develop diabetes or not. An unhealthy lifestyle, when paired with poor dietary habits, can cause serious damage to a child’s health. Today, child obesity is the number one cause of diabetes in children.
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