WHAT ARE RISK FACTORS FOR DIABETES?

Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.

Your chances of developing diabetes depend on a combination of risk factors. Although you can’t change risk factors related to family history, age, race, or ethnicity, you may be able to avoid some risk factors by maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active.

Below are the risk factors that may target you to develop diabetes:

• Age ≥ 45 years
• Overweight or obese: body mass index (BMI) NIH external link ≥ 25 kg/m2 (≥ 23 kg/m2 for Asian Americans)2 or waist circumference External link in men > 40 inches (102 cm) or in women > 35 inches (88 cm)3
• Members of a high-risk population: African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Pacific Islander
• Family history of diabetes (e.g., parent or sibling)
• History of gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing > 9 lbs
• Physical inactivity
• Hypertension ≥ 140/90 mmHg, or on therapy for hypertension
• High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level < 35mg/dl (0.90 mmol/L)
• Fasting triglyceride (TG) level > 250 mg/dL (2.82 mmol/L)
• Other conditions associated with insulin resistance (acanthosis nigricans, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, polycystic ovary syndrome)
• Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
• Treatment with atypical antipsychotics or glucocorticoids.

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