January 21, 2005
Research: Causes and Prevention
Question from Peoria, Illinois, USA:
Although no one, to my knowledge, in my family has ever had type 1 diabetes, I was diagnosed with it in 1979. I have been taking insulin daily ever since. I recently came across some research suggesting that cortisone injections could bring on type 1 diabetes. In the 1970s, I was repeatedly given cortisone injections as a treatment for cystic acne. Have you encountered any research that would link the two?
Answer:
The use of steroids commonly causes diabetes, but it is usually type 2 diabetes that is induced. The thought is that the steroids bring out a predisposition that is already there. With type 1 diabetes, a condition thought to be autoimmune in nature, there is destruction of the insulin-producing cells. Cortisone is not really thought to destroy the insulin producing cells as a direct effect. Rather, it induces more insulin resistance and makes it more likely for type 2 diabetes to occur.
JTL
