Type 1 diabetes is a disorder where the body does not make enough of a hormone called insulin. Type 1 diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes, childhood diabetes, or juvenile diabetes.

The central symptoms of type 1 diabetes are:

* Increased thirst (polydipsia).

* Increased urination (polyuria), including nocturia, the need to get up from sleep in order to urinate. In children, polyuria may take the form of bedwetting.

* Increased appetite (polyphagia).

* Fatigue and drowsiness.

* Unexplained and unintended weight loss.

Other symptoms of type 1 diabetes include sores that do not heal well; a fruity or wine-like breath odor (caused by ketoacidosis); dry and itchy skin; nausea and abdominal cramps; heavy breathing; muscle cramps; tingling sensations in the feet, and blurred vision.

Unlike people with type 2 diabetes symptoms, those diagnosed with type 1 are usually not obese.

Risk factors for diabetes type 1 diabetes mellitus

The risk factors for type 1 diabetes mellitus are different from those for type 2. People at increased risk of type 1 diabetes include:

* Children and young adults rather than older adults.

* Caucasians, particularly people of Swedish or Finnish background.

* Sex: males are at greater risk than females.

* Presence of another autoimmune disorder, such as Graves disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, and Addison disease.

* Family history of type 1 diabetes.

* Genetic factors. Type 1 diabetes is a polygenic disorder, meaning that a combination of genes rather than a single gene plays a role in the development of this type of diabetes in genetically susceptible persons.

* Exposure to certain viruses, particularly Epstein-Barr virus, coxsackievirus, mumps virus or cytomegalovirus.

* Low levels of vitamin D in the diet.

* Being born to a mother younger than 25.

* Being born to a mother who had preeclampsia during pregnancy.

* Being born with jaundice.

* Developing a respiratory infection shortly after birth.