Type 1 Diabetes

Cause

Type 1 diabetes develops because the body's immune system destroys the beta cells which are in the islet tissue in the pancreas. These beta cells produce insulin. So people with type 1 diabetes cannot make their own insulin.

You can inherit a tendency to develop type 1 diabetes, but most people who have the disease have no family history of it. Diabetes experts believe that a genetic tendency and some environmental factors may increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Possible environmental factors include enteroviral infections—especially Coxsackie B infections.

Despite concerns about vaccines (particularly those against whooping cough and Haemophilus influenza B, or Hib), studies have not found a relationship between being vaccinated and developing type 1 diabetes.¹

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Author:	Alison Allen Robin Parks, MS	Last Updated: February 21, 2007
Medical Review:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine
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