 [ Symptoms ] what increases the risk of getting type 1 diabetes [ Disease ] risk factors for type 1 diabetes include family history of type 1 diabetes having a family history of the disease increases the chance that a person will have islet cell antibodies but it does not predict that a person will have the disease only about 10 to 15 of people with type 1 diabetes have a family history of the disease 1 if the father has the disease a child has a 6 risk of developing it if a sibling has the disease a child has a 5 risk of developing it if the mother has the disease a child has a 2 risk of developing it if an identical twin has the disease the other twin has a 30 to 50 risk of developing it if a parent and one sibling have the disease a child has a 30 risk of developing it race white people have a greater risk for developing type 1 diabetes than black asian or hispanic people presence of islet cell antibodies in the blood people who have both a family history of type 1 diabetes and islet cell antibodies in their blood are likely to develop the disease at some time more information who develops type 1 diabetes webmd medical reference from healthwise this information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information © 1995 2011 healthwise incorporated healthwise healthwise for every health decision and the healthwise logo are trademarks of healthwise incorporated