When People Get Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (previously called "insulin-dependent diabetes") usually occurs in thin individuals less than 30 years of age.

It is more common to develop type 1 diabetes in the fall, the season in which many viral infections occur (for example, chicken pox, influenza, and the measles).

Some experts think the higher rate of type 1 diabetes during the fall months suggests that type 1 diabetes may be started by a virus that causes an infection.

Type 2 diabetes generally appears gradually and has never been linked to a specific time of year.