Type 2 diabetes is a chronic health condition in which the insulin produced by the pancreas is unable to regulate blood sugar levels effectively, resulting in a variety of health issues such as heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, and foot problems.
About 37 million Americans, which is about 1 in 10 people, have diabetes and approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Although type 2 diabetes most commonly develops in people over 45 years old, there is an increasing number of children, teenagers, and young adults also being diagnosed with the condition.
Existing tools for predicting the risk of type 2 diabetes utilize data such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and family medical history of the condition.
According to a new study, analyzing alterations to DNA in the bloodstream can enhance the accuracy of predicting an individual’s likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes in the next ten years.
In a study of almost 15,000 individuals, researchers investigated the impact of DNA methylation changes on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, along with other known risk factors.
DNA methylation is a chemical process that involves the addition of a small molecule, known as a methyl group, to DNA.
By using this analysis, the researchers were able to predict the likelihood of developing the disease before any symptoms appear.
The University of Edinburgh scientists discovered that incorporating DNA methylation data with these risk factors provided a more precise prediction. The researchers utilized their findings to determine the predictive performance using a theoretical screening situation of 10,000 people, where one in three individuals develop type 2 diabetes over a 10-year period.
Compared to traditional risk factors alone, the model utilizing DNA methylation accurately classified an additional 449 individuals.
Methylation patterns, which involve the addition or removal of methyl groups, can impact the behavior of certain molecules within the body. By tracking these patterns, researchers can gain insight into the aging process and the development of diseases.
The information was obtained from 14,613 participants who volunteered in the Generation Scotland study.
To ensure the generalizability of their results across diverse populations, the team also conducted their analyses on 1,451 participants from a study conducted in Germany.
The findings of the study were published today in Nature Aging.
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