Type 1 Diabetes Causes

Many children today are dealing with Type 1 diabetes. Although doctors know how this problem happens, they don't really know fully why this problem happens. There definitely are some ideas that doctors have on the Type 1 diabetes causes. This disease occurs when the immune system attacks itself, getting rid of the cells that create insulin. Without insulin the body can't deal with all the glucose in the blood, causing damage to the body that can be life threatening. Here are a few of the possible causes that doctors are looking at these days when it comes to Type 1 diabetes.

Genetic Predisposition
First of all, one of the Type 1 diabetes causes seems to be genetic predisposition. There is definitely a link between the disease and the genes of the people who have the problem. It appears that some people are born with a predisposition genetically to have this problem. On the other hand, it hasn't been classified as a disease that is inherited. Not everyone who has the genetic predisposition to get this disease ends up having the problem. This disease is on the increase today and if genetics were the only cause, this increase in the disease would be unwarranted.

Environmental Triggers
Another one of the possible Type 1 diabetes causes includes environmental triggers. There are some people that think that having certain viral infections can actually trigger this problem in people who already have the genetic makeup to get the disease. The virus tricks the immune system into thinking there is a problem, which makes it start attacking the pancreas cells that create insulin as well as the actual virus. One type of viruses they are specifically studying that may be related to this is enteric viruses. These viruses attack the intestines and could be the problem.

There are other researchers that think a toxin from the surrounding environment can be causing this problem to occur. One of the theories they have is that there is toxic bacteria in soil which can get into vegetables that people eat. This can cause the problem to occur in those who have the genetic predisposition to Type 1 diabetes.

Other Types of Autoimmune Disorders
Last of all, studies have shown that those who have Type 1 diabetes are more likely to have other autoimmune disorders as well. Researchers think that these other disorders may be one of the Type 1 diabetes causes. One problem with the immune system can trigger off another, causing Type 1 diabetes to occur.

Of course these causes are still theories that the medical community has. No one is totally sure what really causes this disease to occur. As they continue to work on finding a cause, hopefully it will lead them to a good cure for the disease.