If you are concerned that your child may have diabetes, you must learn the signs of diabetes in children. You may find out that your child has the condition, but Tandem Diabetes can help put your mind at ease.
You only need to learn the four symptoms of diabetes before you decide what your next move will be:
- Urinating frequently
- Extreme thirst
- Increased hunger
- Unexplained weight loss
Type I diabetes often develops during childhood or adolescence, but it can develop at any age. Type II diabetes is more common than type I, and it can also develop. In most cases, people will be diagnosed with type II diabetes over 40.
What Are the Risk Factors for Type I Diabetes?
The risk factors for type I diabetes include the following:
- Country
Some countries have more people diagnosed with diabetes than others, two of which are Sweden and Finland.
- The Presence of Autoantibodies
Diabetes autoantibodies may exist in family members of people with diabetes. Anyone determined to have these autoantibodies has an increased risk of developing type I diabetes. However, every person with these autoantibodies will not develop diabetes.
- Factors Within the Environment
Exposure to a viral illness is believed to cause type I diabetes.
- Family History
Someone with a parent or a sibling with type I diabetes has an increased risk of developing the same disease.
What Are the Risk Factors for Type II Diabetes and Prediabetes?
- Abnormal Triglyceride Levels and Cholesterol Levels
High-density lipoprotein or “HDL” is good cholesterol, and these levels are high in a healthy person. If your levels are low, you have a higher risk of developing type II diabetes. Triglycerides are fats that travel throughout your bloodstream, and if these levels are high, your risk of developing type II diabetes is higher.
- Hypertension
If your blood pressure is over 140/90, you have an increased risk of developing type II diabetes.
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome causes women to experience irregular menstrual periods, increased body hair, and excess weight. This condition increases the risk of type II diabetes.
- Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes increases the risk of prediabetes and type II diabetes. However, if the baby weighs more than nine pounds, this also increases your risk of type II diabetes.
- Age
As we age, we tend to exercise less, gain weight and lose muscle mass. This increases the risk of type II diabetes, but the risk is also increasing in children and adolescents.
- Ethnicity or Race
Americans of Asian, African, Hispanic and Indigenous descent are at an increased risk of developing type II diabetes.
- Family History
If your parent or sibling currently has type II diabetes, you have an increased risk of developing the condition.
- Inactivity
If you live an inactive lifestyle, your risk of type II diabetes increases. Exercise does incredible things for your body, causing your cells to be sensitive to insulin, using glucose for energy and losing weight.
- Excess Fat
As your weight increases, your cells become more resistant to insulin.
Obtaining a diagnosis to get treatment for your child is the most important thing you can do right now.