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Diabetes does appear to run in families. You might be asking if this means the condition is inherited.
The answer is multifaceted and depends on the kind of diabetes as well as other factors such as nutrition, lifestyle, and environment.
“Most patients with diabetes are affected by a mix of hereditary and environmental variables” . Furthermore, the role of genetics varies according to the type of diabetes.
Diabetes Type 1 :
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune system assaults and destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone that aids in the transfer of glucose (sugar) into cells for energy utilisation. Hyperglycemia occurs when the level of glucose in the blood is abnormally high (arrow pointing up). Because this kind of diabetes typically presents in youth or early adulthood, it was previously known as juvenile diabetes.
People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop additional autoimmune disorders such as Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, celiac disease, and pernicious anaemia, according to a review published in BioMed Research International in 2016.
According to MedlinePlus, while those with a family history of type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop it, the inheritance pattern in the majority of instances is unknown.
Diabetes Type II:
Insulin resistance, a disorder that leads to type 2 diabetes, occurs when the body does not properly utilise insulin. To compensate, the pancreas generates more insulin initially, but this is insufficient to keep blood glucose levels normal over time. Being overweight or obese is the most important risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
High blood pressure, a low amount of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, a high level of triglycerides in your blood, or a family history of heart disease or stroke are all connected to type 2 diabetes. Infertility can also be caused by depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Diabetes During Pregnancy:
During pregnancy, women develop a certain level of insulin resistance, which ensures that enough glucose is available to supply energy to the growing foetus. The vast majority of pregnant women do not develop gestational diabetes, but a small number do. A combination of genes, environment, and lifestyle factors are likely to play a role, as they do in type 2 diabetes. Many women who get the disease have at least one close family member, such as a parent or sister, who has had gestational diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is associated to preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy) and preterm delivery. Babies born to diseased mothers have higher birth weights than normal, which may create complications during delivery. Infants born to diabetic mothers are more likely to have dangerously low blood sugar levels immediately after birth. Obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes are all dangers that these children will encounter in the future.
Ayurvedic Perspective on Diabetes & Genes
Ayurveda, an art-science of living a healthy lifestyle as well as a medical system, has been practised for millennia in India. Despite Ayurveda’s excellent description of diabetes (Madhumeha) and its preconditioning (Prameha), modern biomedical sciences are mostly ignorant of its complicated concepts.
Humans have known about the Prameha Roga since the beginning of time, and physicians in ancient India expressed the disease’s concept. In Ayurveda, the morbid production of urine in general is referred to as “Prameha.” When three physiological humours (Tridoshas) are out of equilibrium, twenty varieties of excessive urine are detailed in ancient Hindu scriptures under the theme of Prameha.
Kapha Dosha imbalances create ten variants, Pitta Dosha imbalances cause six, and Vata Dosha imbalances cause four.
The ancient Hindus regarded “Madhumeha” (Honey urine) or Kshaudrameha (Honey urine or sugar-cane) as one of four types caused by Vata imbalance, which we now call “Diabetes Mellitus.” Prameha, according to doctors, is a unique ailment. The only difference, according to Ayurveda, is the manifestation, which is determined by the concentration of Dhatus and Doshas.
Prameha’s predisposition factors are as follows:
1. Asatmyata Garbhakala (intrauterine effect),
2. Shaithilya (inadequate muscular and adipose stiffness),
3. Meda asarata (adipocytes that are defective),
4. Madhur Agraha (candy craving),
5. Kapha chaya (sero-mucoid accumulation),
6. Kapha prakopa (biofilm aggravation),
7. Mansavahasrotadushti (hepatic infiltration),
8. Meda Vriddhi (obesity),
9. Avyayama (aversion to exertion),
10. Divasvapna (during the day),
11. Medovahasrotadushti (inflammation of adipose tissue),
12. Kleda Dushti (excess extracellular fluid), for example.
Furthermore, the Prakruti of the individual determines the relative value of each of these characteristics. The genetic determinants of these characteristics must be investigated.
The primary prakruti kinds that are most prone to diabetes include Kapha, pitta, and vata. Furthermore, phenotypes are linked to the development of diabetes, and genotype is protective.
The centuries-old approach is based on the notion that three bodily humours or’doshas’ (vata, pitta, and kapha) influence the functioning of the human body. When the doshas are balanced, one is well; when they are not, one gets ill. Although all three doshas exist in every human being, one is more prominent than the others, and this dominant dosha determines an individual’s ‘prakriti.’ Prakriti, according to Ayurveda, is determined at birth and does not alter much throughout life.
Prakruti, according to Ayurveda, underpins a person’s susceptibility to disease as well as their response to treatment. As a result, determining a patient’s prakriti before to treatment is crucial in Ayurvedic medicine, because treatment for the same condition may change dramatically depending on the prakriti.
Because diabetes is associated with Prakruti, as is an individual’s genetic makeup, we can deduce that diabetes and genetics are likewise linked.Â
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