November 25, 2001
Research: Causes and Prevention, Type 2
Question from Rochester, New York, USA:
My 72 year old mother, who is very obese and has syndrome X, claims she read an article published by a major research institute (does not remember which one) that says diabetes may be caused by environmental factors such as pollution. I believe she is in a bit of denial. I have searched many places on the Internet and cannot find anything about environment and pollution as possible causes of diabetes. Can you help direct me to anything she might be talking about?
Answer:
The cause of type� 2 diabetes is multifactorial. That means there are multiple things that happen before a person develops diabetes. First, there is a genetic component whereby a person inherits a risk for diabetes. Second, there are environmental aspects to developing diabetes. For instance, environmental aspects could include diet, activity level, stress of any kind, but not usually pollution. Maybe she was confused about what constitutes environmental issues. Further information is available on the American Diabetes Association website regarding the cause of type 2 diabetes.
JTL
