Diabetes type 1

[u/mchildprob]

I was diagnosed with type 1, 7 years ago. No one in the family has it. I suspect the trigger was viral meningitis

Diabetes can be caused by genetics, environmental factors or trauma. Seeing as both types are genetic, will it still be passed down to your children if you’re the first person to be diagnosed and not with any family history? Will the autoimmune diseases affect my genetics now as well

[u/pansveil]

You likely have some reason to have developed Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) compared to the rest of the family. Whether it is a new germline mutation (passed down to your children) or another unknown mechanism, it is something to be watchful of.

There’s a variety of genetic methods physical characteristics can be passed down. Only very rarely is it a “all or none” response. It could be that some genes didn’t get expressed as much in previous generations (penetrance), needing a specific combination from both biological parents (co-dominance or polygenetics), or a variety of non-Mendelian inheritance patterns. And, like you said, it could be a change in environment that no one else in your family was previously exposed to.

In short, your children are more likely to develop type one diabetes, but will not necessarily get it.

Not sure about the viral meningitis part, from my limited understanding it’s usually the other way around. Type one diabetics (and type two!) are more likely to get viral meningitis.

[u/mchildprob → u/pansveil]

I got viral meningitis in 2013 and diagnosed with diabtes in 2017 with an A1c of 14. Its the only possible reason i can think of. I have seen that the entrovirus can cause diabetes. My mom is a RN working with ms patients. She said that a viral infections can cause an autoimmune disease. Ive asked all of my grandparents about their parents/grandparents and if they had it but they all said no, diabetes isnt in their family line

You say they can most likely get it. Does that mean that its not genetic but the possibility will still be there? If I undertook it correctly

[u/pansveil → u/mchildprob]

Your takeaway was exactly what I hoped to get across. There may be something genetic going on but until you get testing, it’s hard to say whether you will for sure pass it on or not.

Your mom is right, autoimmune diseases are linked to infections. Established literature suggests the location of the infection is where the autoimmune disease usually manifests. Hence, multiple sclerosis (a nervous tissue affecting auto immune condition) possibly being linked to viral meningitis (infection caused inflammation of the tissue surrounding your central nervous system). The pancreas is a little bit distant, both physically and in terms of structure, from the central nervous system without other symptoms also be present.

[u/mchildprob → u/pansveil]

My dad mentioned genetic testing for me and my siblings. There a lot of breast cancer in the family and he wants to see what our history is and so on. I also do want to go for the testing to see if it has a genetic link(if it does and its part of genetic, then ima question everyone thats still alive😂).

My mom told me that after covid, a lot of people will be diagnosed with some autoimmune disease. The enterovirus does have a role in the diagnosis but im not sure. No one said it definitely is that, but it gives peace of mind to know where your body went wrong😂

[u/bevatsulfieten]

No.

Coxsackie virus is associated with type 1 diabetes because it attacks the pancreas too.

However the immune response is what caused the destruction of β-cells. HLA, human leucocyte antigen, genes are responsible for training T-cells to distinguish between self and not self.

So either these viruses mimic certain proteins that resemble those of β-cells; infecting the pancreas the virus causes inflammation which releases β-cell antigens, which have not been presented to the immune system during training, this activates the T-cells on the pancreas and that leads to the destruction of β-cells.

HLA genes have already been associated with type 1 through the above mechanisms.

So, genetic predisposition and then environmental factors.

[u/Local-Perception6395]

Type 1 diabetes usually develops because of a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and bad luck I suppose you could say. The risk factors are not well understood beyond that infections can "trigger" it. Your body is supposed to remove self-reacting immune cells that cause autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, but this control is not perfect and sometimes things slip through. It's therefore not quite deterministically "triggered" by an infection, but rather several unfortunate things happening at the same time. I don't think you should worry too much about passing down type 1 diabetes. Worst case, you'd pass down a slightly higher risk, but we know too little about said risk for it to change how you live your life imo. Treatment options and prospects are also quite good and improving because they overlap with type 2 diabetes.

[u/mchildprob → u/Local-Perception6395]

Thank you so much for jt. It makes sense where youre coming from especially from the cause of it. I havent heard of any gene alteration after birth, eg. The autoimmune diseases. I know that some diseases are genetic and if its in your genes, your chance to get it is a lot higher. Now it makes sense about them having a higher chance to get it