Type-1 diabetes is on the rise in Norwich, England, as well as the debate over the cause of the increase. Dr Ian Gibson, a former science lecturer and current Labour MP, points to long-established inbreeding as the cause of the rise in Norfolk.
"There is a genetic element, but it may be triggered by an environmental factor. Nobody knows why it is rising," retorts Dr Ketan Dhatariya, a consultant dealing with diabetes in the Norwich area where diabetes cases are double than expected.
Inbreeding, Dr Gibson argues, happens everywhere, giving rise to groups with certain genetics due to 'familiarity' among families with the same name, brothers, and 'so on'. Norwich, however, is not as isolated as people wish to believe, he says.
