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Type 1 Research Paper

Decent Essays

Complications of Type 1 Diabetes
The heart, nerves, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes and other organs can be negatively impacted by uncontrolled diabetes. The goal is to keep the blood sugar normal most of the time to avoid these complications.
Complications include:
Neuropathy (nerve damage) - Extra sugar builds up in the tiny vessels that provide circulation to your nerves. When sugar builds up, the diabetic begins to lose feeling in extremities, usually lower limbs, starting with tingling and leading to complete nerve damage. Nerve damage to the stomach can cause constipation or diarrhea as well as erectile dysfunction in men.
Heart disease - uncontrolled diabetes can put the diabetic at a high risk for stroke, heart attack, and high blood pressure. …show more content…

Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
The cause of type 1 diabetes is not known, though through research has been speculated to be genetic or exposure to a virus. Eating too much sugar does not cause diabetes. In most people with type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakenly destroys the islet cells, which produce insulin in the pancreas. Therefore, sugar builds up in the bloodstream, leading to life-threatening complications.
Risk Factors for Type 1 Diabetes
Though the cause of type 1 diabetes is not known, trends for risk factors include:
Age - Trends of two age ranges have been noticed to be risk factors, children between 4 and 7 years old, and the second is in children between ages 10 and 14 years old.
Family history - Those with an immediate family member with type 1 diabetes may have a higher risk of type 1 diabetes.
Genetics - Certain genes can lead someone to have a higher risk of type 1 diabetes
Geography - Those in Finland and Sardinia have the highest incidence of type 1 diabetes.
These risk factors have not been proven, but investigated
Exposure to certain viruses, like the Epstein-Barr virus, Coxsackie virus, mumps virus and

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