Diabetes: Prevention and risk factors

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Risk factors

There are several factors that contribute to a person's chance of developing diabetes. These factors can also affect a person's risk of complications and how they manage their condition.

Overall, men are more likely to have diabetes than women. However, diabetes rates among men and women differ for certain socioeconomic factors, including:

Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations are more likely to develop diabetes and are more susceptible to certain risk factors, such as:

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Prediabetes

You're at higher risk of developing prediabetes if you have:

Lowering your risk of prediabetes and managing your blood glucose levels can help to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes later in life.

Type 1 diabetes

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not well understood. They may include:

Type 1 diabetes is not preventable.

Type 2 diabetes

Risk factors that contribute to developing type 2 diabetes include:

Evidence shows that type 2 and gestational diabetes are more prevalent in certain populations in Canada, including:

This is often due to:

Your chance of developing type 2 diabetes also increases if you have other conditions like:

Prevention and reducing risks of diabetes

A healthy lifestyle can help to:

Living a healthy lifestyle can also prevent other chronic conditions and improve your overall quality of life.

Health experts recognize that our ability to change our lifestyle and health habits is closely tied to several different factors. We can control some of these factors, but not others. Factors can include:

There are many different ways to make healthy lifestyle changes:

You should also get screened or tested for diabetes regularly and report any new signs and symptoms to your healthcare provider. It's also important to have regular check-ups to measure your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In many cases the earlier a health condition is detected, the easier it is to treat.

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