Familial Inheritance in Diabetes Mellitus in South Iranian Population.

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM), the most common endocrine disease, is characterized by metabolic abnormalities and by its long term complications. It is well known that genetic predisposition is an important factor in occurrence of diabetes mellitus but the mechanism of inheritance of this disorder is unclear. The more significance of maternal or paternal inheritance in diabetes has been a matter of controversy and difference in various populations and races, so this study was conducted to evaluate pattern of inheritances in Fars diabetes center referrals as a Southern Iranian population.Materials and Methods: In this study 1056 diabetic patients in Fars diabetes center were interviewed by trained interviewers using a standard questionnaire and information about family history of 1st and 2nd degree relatives of patients were recorded.Results: In this study type II diabetes had more familial aggregation than type I diabetes (p 0.001). Maternal transmission of diabetes was stronger in type II diabetes than type I (p 0.001). Positive family history of diabetes in 2nd degree relative of type I patients was significantly more common that type II diabetic patients (P 0.001). Maternal history of diabetes is stronger than paternal history of diabetes among both type I and type II diabetic populations (type I P 0.05 and type II P 0.001)