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Navigate: FAQ Home Page > General Health Questions > Diabetes
Posted on: 11/03/2005
Question
Why is diabetes a genetic disorder?
Answer
Your body needs a hormone called insulin to help turn the food you eat into energy you can use. Diabetes causes a decrease in the amount of insulin that your body can produce, or does not allow it to work as well as it should. Genes are proteins in your body that act as a blueprint for how your body looks and functions. Genes are passed down from parents to their children before they are born. Some people have genes that make them more likely to have certain characteristics, including a decrease in the ability to use insulin, or being less able to fight illnesses that can make their pancreas (an organ in your body that produces insulin) very sick and unable to produce insulin correctly.