Why have I become diabetic?

If you have been diagnosed with type I diabetes then it is because your body is unable to produce a hormone called insulin. Insulin is normally produced by β cells in the Islet of Langerhan region of your pancreas but you have become a type I diabetic if your immune system has attacked and damaged your β cells in a way that prevents them from producing insulin. If you have recently been diagnosed with type II diabetes then your body will have become unresponsive to the insulin that you produce in your β cells. Diabetes type II generally develops due to lifestyle and genetic causes but there are numerous different factors that could have caused you to become diabetic.  If you are obese, smoke, exercise infrequently and drink alcohol then you will have increased your risk of developing diabetes, however there are also other causes of developing diabetes type II such as genetic predisposition and certain medical conditions (such as Cushing’s syndrome and the metabolic syndrome). In addition to this certain drugs can also act to supress insulin which can present similar to diabetes. If you have become diabetic whilst you are pregnant then it is known as gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs if you are found to have a high blood glucose level during pregnancy and there are a number of reasons that you could have developed gestational diabetes. Risk factors include have polycystic ovaries syndrome (PCOS), smoking, being obese, having had a previous high weight baby and having a family history of type II diabetes (or having previously been diagnosed with insulin intolerance).   

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