Family Health History and Diabetes

"If you have a mother, father, sister, or brother with diabetes, you are more likely to get diabetes yourself. You are also more likely to have prediabetes. Talk to your doctor about your family health history of diabetes. Your doctor can help you take steps to prevent or delay diabetes, and reverse prediabetes if you have it.

Over 30 million people have diabetes. People with diabetes have levels of blood sugar that are too high. The different types of diabetes include type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Diabetes can cause serious health problems, including heart disease, kidney problems, stroke, blindness, and the need for lower leg amputations.

People with prediabetes have levels of blood sugar that are higher than normal, but not high enough for them to be diagnosed with diabetes. People with prediabetes are more likely to get type 2 diabetes. About 84 million people in the United States have prediabetes, but most of them don’t know they have it. If you have prediabetes, you can take steps to reverse it and prevent or delay diabetes—but not if you don’t know that you have it. Could you have prediabetes? Take this test to find out..."
Diabetes and families