Causes of type 1 diabetes
Causes of type 1 diabetes
The gradual destruction of beta cells in the pancreas that eventually results in the onset of type 1 diabetes is the result of autoimmune destruction. The immune system turning against the body’s own cells is possibly triggered by an environmental factor exposed to people who have a genetic susceptibility.2
Although the mechanisms of type 1 diabetes etiology are unclear, they are thought to involve the interaction of multiple factors:2
- Susceptibility genes – some of which are carried by over 90% of patients with type 1 diabetes. Some populations – Scandinavians and Sardinians, for example – are more likely to have susceptibility genes
- Autoantigens – proteins thought to be released or exposed during normal pancreas beta cell turnover or injury such as that caused by infection. The autoantigens activate an immune response resulting in beta cell destruction
- Viruses – coxsackievirus, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and retroviruses are among those that have been linked to type 1 diabetes
- Diet – infant exposure to dairy products, high nitrates in drinking water and low vitamin D intake have also been linked to the development of type 1 diabetes.
- FONTE
- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/diabetes/type1diabetes.php
