Type II diabetes mellitus recognizes a long list of risk factors, which can be taken into account in the development of tests, able to quantify the probability that a person is suffering from diabetes or develop the disease over the years.
The main risk factors for type II diabetes include:
obesity (BMI> 30), especially the abdominal one (indicated by a waist circumference - the narrowest point of the abdomen - greater than 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women);
sedentary lifestyle;
unhealthy eating habits (which together with a sedentary lifestyle represent the main culprits of overweight and obesity);
familiarity and genetics (the risk of developing type II diabetes mellitus increases when there are parents and / or siblings already affected by the disease in the family; furthermore, some breeds - such as the black and Hispanic - are more subject to it);
advancing age (type II diabetes mellitus is typical of late adulthood and old age);
hypertension (blood pressure higher than 140/90 mmHg);
hypercholesterolemia (in particular if supported by an excess of bad LDL cholesterol, reported for example by a ratio of total cholesterol / HDL greater than 5 in men and to 4.5 in women);
history of gestational diabetes or macrosomic child.
The following calculation module allows to obtain an estimate of the risk of suffering from type II diabetes mellitus, by analyzing the answers to seven simple questions. In this regard, we remind you that only by contacting your doctor to discuss the possibility of undergoing specific clinical tests, such as the evaluation of fasting glucose or after oral glucose loading, you can find out if you are suffering from type II diabetes mellitus and quantify with greater accuracy the risk of developing the disease in the years to come.
