Type 2 diabetes, or Diabetes Mellitus is one of the emerging disease of our century. Each year millions of people acquire it, and its source so far has eluded researchers.
Type 1 Diabetes, or Diabetes Insipidus, the more severe form, is a very separate disease, and is not easily controllable with medication or diet.
Now researchers might have found a clue to what causes Type 2.
A study of people's levels of melatonin during sleep time has shown that those people with the lowest levels of melatonin produced by the body itself, were at twice the risk of having Type 2 diabetes later on in life.
While melatonin is known to regulate sleep, it is secreted mostly at night.
The study was done with 740 women. Of the group 370 developed diabetes while the others did not. The blood and urine samples collected showed that the women who did not get the Type 2 diabetes had high peak nighttime levels of melatonin secretion.
Another independent study also found that teenagers who do not get enough sleep are also at risk of developing insulin resistance, which is considered a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.
Source: MNT 4.19.13
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