the baby is born, African American women who develop gestational diabetes face a 52% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future compared to non-Hispanic Caucasian women diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease—your immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas where insulin is made. It’s not clear why this happens, but, when it does, your body isn’t able to make enough of its own insulin to keep your blood-sugar levels normal. People with type 1 diabetes require daily insulin injections to live.
Type 2 Diabetes is the most prevalent type of diabetes; nine out of every ten people diagnosed with the disease have this type. For every six white Americans who have it, 10 African Americans do. Though research has established that a person’s likelihood of getting diabetes is strongly based on genetics, the exact cause of type 2 diabetes is not understood, but we do understand how it works: if you have type 2 your body either doesn’t make enough insulin, which is called insulin deficiency, or the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly, which is called insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes most often occurs in people who:
- Are over 40 years of age. As you age, the pancreas may not work as well.
- Are overweight or physically inactive. When you are overweight, your cells become more resistant to insulin.
- Have a family history of diabetes. If other members of your family have diabetes, you are more likely to get it.
- Have a history of diabetes during pregnancy. The hormones of