OBJECTIVE

Myocellular ATP synthesis (fATP) associates with insulin sensitivity in first-degree relatives of subjects with type 2 diabetes. Short-term endurance training can modify their fATP and insulin sensitivity. This study examines the effects of moderate long-term exercise using endurance or resistance training in this cohort.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A randomized, parallel-group trial tested 16 glucose-tolerant nonobese relatives (8 subjects in the endurance training group and 8 subjects in the resistance training group) before and after 26 weeks of endurance or resistance training. Exercise performance was assessed from power output and oxygen uptake (Vo2) during incremental tests and from maximal torque of knee flexors (MaxTflex) and extensors (MaxText) using isokinetic dynamometry. fATP and ectopic lipids were measured with 1H/31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

RESULTS

Endurance training increased power output and Vo2 by 44 and 30%, respectively (both P < 0.001), whereas resistance training increased MaxText and MaxTflex by 23 and 40%, respectively (both P < 0.001). Across all groups, insulin sensitivity (382 ± 90 vs. 389 ± 40 mL ⋅ min−1 ⋅ m−2) and ectopic lipid contents were comparable after exercise training. However, 8 of 16 relatives had 26% greater fATP, increasing from 9.5 ± 2.3 to 11.9 ± 2.4 μmol ⋅ mL−1 ⋅ m−1 (P < 0.05). Six of eight responders were carriers of the G/G single nucleotide polymorphism rs540467 of the NDUFB6 gene (P = 0.019), which encodes a subunit of mitochondrial complex I.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate exercise training for 6 months does not necessarily improve insulin sensitivity but may increase ATP synthase flux. Genetic predisposition can modify the individual response of the ATP synthase flux independently of insulin sensitivity.

OBJECTIVE

Although insulin resistance (IR) may underlie associations between depressive symptoms and diabetes, previous findings have been contradictory. We examined whether depressive symptoms associate with IR and insulin secretion, and, additionally, whether antidepressant medication use may modulate such associations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 4,419 individuals underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Participants with previously or newly diagnosed diabetes are excluded from this sample. The homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) and corrected insulin response (CIR) were calculated. Depressive symptoms and antidepressant medication use were self-reported.

RESULTS

After controlling for confounding factors, depressive symptoms were associated with higher fasting and 30-min insulin during the OGTT and higher HOMA-IR but not CIR. Antidepressant medication use failed to modify these associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Depressive symptoms are associated with IR but not with changes in insulin response when corrected for IR in individuals without previously or newly diagnosed diabetes.

Genetic case-control association studies often include data on clinical covariates, such as body mass index (BMI), smoking status, or age, that may modify the underlying genetic risk of case or control samples. For example, in type 2 diabetes, odds ratios for established variants estimated from low–BMI cases are larger than those estimated from high–BMI cases. An unanswered question is how to use this information to maximize statistical power in case-control studies that ascertain individuals on the basis of phenotype (case-control ascertainment) or phenotype and clinical covariates (case-control-covariate ascertainment). While current approaches improve power in studies with random ascertainment, they often lose power under case-control ascertainment and fail to capture available power increases under case-control-covariate ascertainment. We show that an informed conditioning approach, based on the liability threshold model with parameters informed by external epidemiological information, fully accounts for disease prevalence and non-random ascertainment of phenotype as well as covariates and provides a substantial increase in power while maintaining a properly controlled false-positive rate. Our method outperforms standard case-control association tests with or without covariates, tests of gene x covariate interaction, and previously proposed tests for dealing with covariates in ascertained data, with especially large improvements in the case of case-control-covariate ascertainment. We investigate empirical case-control studies of type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, and end-stage kidney disease over a total of 89,726 samples. In these datasets, informed conditioning outperforms logistic regression for 115 of the 157 known associated variants investigated (P-value = 1×10−9). The improvement varied across diseases with a 16% median increase in χ2 test statistics and a commensurate increase in power. This suggests that applying our method to existing and future association studies of these diseases may identify novel disease loci.

Author Summary

This work describes a new methodology for analyzing genome-wide case-control association studies of diseases with strong correlations to clinical covariates, such as age in prostate cancer and body mass index in type 2 diabetes. Currently, researchers either ignore these clinical covariates or apply approaches that ignore the disease's prevalence and the study's ascertainment strategy. We take an alternative approach, leveraging external prevalence information from the epidemiological literature and constructing a statistic based on the classic liability threshold model of disease. Our approach not only improves the power of studies that ascertain individuals randomly or based on the disease phenotype, but also improves the power of studies that ascertain individuals based on both the disease phenotype and clinical covariates. We apply our statistic to seven datasets over six different diseases and a variety of clinical covariates. We found that there was a substantial improvement in test statistics relative to current approaches at known associated variants. This suggests that novel loci may be identified by applying our method to existing and future association studies of these diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a model for the prediction of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk on the basis of a multivariate logistic model and 1-h plasma glucose concentration (1-h PG).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The model was developed in a cohort of 1,562 nondiabetic subjects from the San Antonio Heart Study (SAHS) and validated in 2,395 nondiabetic subjects in the Botnia Study. A risk score on the basis of anthropometric parameters, plasma glucose and lipid profile, and blood pressure was computed for each subject. Subjects with a risk score above a certain cut point were considered to represent high-risk individuals, and their 1-h PG concentration during the oral glucose tolerance test was used to further refine their future T2DM risk.

RESULTS

We used the San Antonio Diabetes Prediction Model (SADPM) to generate the initial risk score. A risk-score value of 0.065 was found to be an optimal cut point for initial screening and selection of high-risk individuals. A 1-h PG concentration >140 mg/dL in high-risk individuals (whose risk score was >0.065) was the optimal cut point for identification of subjects at increased risk. The two cut points had 77.8, 77.4, and 44.8% (for the SAHS) and 75.8, 71.6, and 11.9% (for the Botnia Study) sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value, respectively, in the SAHS and Botnia Study.

CONCLUSIONS

A two-step model, based on the combination of the SADPM and 1-h PG, is a useful tool for the identification of high-risk Mexican-American and Caucasian individuals.

OBJECTIVE

The incretin hormone GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) promotes pancreatic β-cell function by potentiating insulin secretion and β-cell proliferation. Recently, a combined analysis of several genome-wide association studies (Meta-analysis of Glucose and Insulin-Related Traits Consortium [MAGIC]) showed association to postprandial insulin at the GIP receptor (GIPR) locus. Here we explored mechanisms that could explain the protective effects of GIP on islet function.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Associations of GIPR rs10423928 with metabolic and anthropometric phenotypes in both nondiabetic (N = 53,730) and type 2 diabetic individuals (N = 2,731) were explored by combining data from 11 studies. Insulin secretion was measured both in vivo in nondiabetic subjects and in vitro in islets from cadaver donors. Insulin secretion was also measured in response to exogenous GIP. The in vitro measurements included protein and gene expression as well as measurements of β-cell viability and proliferation.

RESULTS

The A allele of GIPR rs10423928 was associated with impaired glucose- and GIP-stimulated insulin secretion and a decrease in BMI, lean body mass, and waist circumference. The decrease in BMI almost completely neutralized the effect of impaired insulin secretion on risk of type 2 diabetes. Expression of GIPR mRNA was decreased in human islets from carriers of the A allele or patients with type 2 diabetes. GIP stimulated osteopontin (OPN) mRNA and protein expression. OPN expression was lower in carriers of the A allele. Both GIP and OPN prevented cytokine-induced reduction in cell viability (apoptosis). In addition, OPN stimulated cell proliferation in insulin-secreting cells.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support β-cell proliferative and antiapoptotic roles for GIP in addition to its action as an incretin hormone. Identification of a link between GIP and OPN may shed new light on the role of GIP in preservation of functional β-cell mass in humans.

Objective

Parental history of diabetes and specific gene variants are risk factors for type 2 diabetes, but the extent to which these factors are associated is unknown.

Methods

We examined the association between parental history of diabetes and a type 2 diabetes genetic risk score (GRS) in two cohort studies from Finland (population-based PPP-Botnia Study) and the US (family-based Framingham Offspring Study).

Results

Mean (95% CI) GRS increased from 16.8 (16.8–16.9) to 16.9 (16.8–17.1) to 17.1 (16.8–17.4) among PPP-Botnia participants with 0, 1, and 2 parents with diabetes, respectively (ptrend=0.03). The trend was similar among Framingham Offspring but was not statistically significant (p=0.07). The meta-analyzed p value for trend from the two studies was 0.005.

Conclusions

The very modest associations reported above suggest that the increased risk of diabetes in offspring of parents with diabetes is largely the result of shared environmental/lifestyle factors and/or hitherto unknown genetic factors.

Introduction

Observational studies have shown that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is related to mortality, but the shape of the association is less clear. Furthermore, disease duration and medication may modify this association. This observational study explored the association between HbA1c measured in stored erythrocytes and mortality. Secondly, it was assessed whether disease duration and medication use influenced the estimates or were independently associated with mortality.

Methods

Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition a cohort was analysed of 4,345 individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of diabetes at enrolment. HbA1c was measured in blood samples stored up to 19 years. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models for all-cause mortality investigated HbA1c in quartiles as well as per 1% increment, diabetes medication in seven categories of insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents, and disease duration in quartiles.

Results

After a median follow-up of 9.3 years, 460 participants died. Higher HbA1c was associated with higher mortality: Hazard Ratio for 1%-increase was 1.11 (95% CI 1.06, 1.17). This association was linear (P-nonlinearity =0.15) and persistent across categories of medication use, disease duration, and co-morbidities. Compared with metformin, other medication types were not associated with mortality. Longer disease duration was associated with mortality, but not after adjustment for HbA1c and medication.

Conclusion

This prospective study showed that persons with lower HbA1c had better survival than those with higher HbA1c. The association was linear and independent of disease duration, type of medication use, and presence of co-morbidities. Any improvement of HbA1c appears to be associated with reduced mortality risk.

OBJECTIVE

FTO is the most important polygene identified for obesity. We aimed to investigate whether a variant in FTO affects type 2 diabetes risk entirely through its effect on BMI and how FTO influences BMI across adult life span.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Through regression models, we assessed the relationship between the FTO single nucleotide polymorphisms rs9939609, type 2 diabetes, and BMI across life span in subjects from the Norwegian population-based HUNT study using cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives. For replication and meta-analysis, we used data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) and Malmö Preventive Project (MPP) cohorts, comprising a total sample of 41,504 Scandinavians.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis revealed a highly significant association for rs9939609 with both type 2 diabetes (OR 1.13; P = 4.5 × 10−8) and the risk to develop incident type 2 diabetes (OR 1.16; P = 3.2 × 10−8). The associations remained also after correction for BMI and other anthropometric measures. Furthermore, we confirmed the strong effect on BMI (0.28 kg/m2 per risk allele; P = 2.0 × 10−26), with no heterogeneity between different age-groups. We found no differences in change of BMI over time according to rs9939609 risk alleles, neither overall (∆BMI = 0.0 [−0.05, 0.05]) nor in any individual age stratum, indicating no further weight gain attributable to FTO genotype in adults.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified that a variant in FTO alters type 2 diabetes risk partly independent of its observed effect on BMI. The additional weight gain as a result of the FTO risk variant seems to occur before adulthood, and the BMI difference remains stable thereafter.

Catherine Cornu and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of metformin efficacy on cardiovascular morbidity or mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes and showed that although metformin is considered the gold standard, its benefit/risk ratio remains uncertain.

Background

The UK Prospective Diabetes Study showed that metformin decreases mortality compared to diet alone in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Since then, it has been the first-line treatment in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes. However, metformin-sulphonylurea bitherapy may increase mortality.

Methods and Findings

This meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials evaluated metformin efficacy (in studies of metformin versus diet alone, versus placebo, and versus no treatment; metformin as an add-on therapy; and metformin withdrawal) against cardiovascular morbidity or mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. We searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane database. Primary end points were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death. Secondary end points included all myocardial infarctions, all strokes, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, leg amputations, and microvascular complications. Thirteen randomised controlled trials (13,110 patients) were retrieved; 9,560 patients were given metformin, and 3,550 patients were given conventional treatment or placebo. Metformin did not significantly affect the primary outcomes all-cause mortality, risk ratio (RR) = 0.99 (95% CI: 0.75 to 1.31), and cardiovascular mortality, RR = 1.05 (95% CI: 0.67 to 1.64). The secondary outcomes were also unaffected by metformin treatment: all myocardial infarctions, RR = 0.90 (95% CI: 0.74 to 1.09); all strokes, RR = 0.76 (95% CI: 0.51 to 1.14); heart failure, RR = 1.03 (95% CI: 0.67 to 1.59); peripheral vascular disease, RR = 0.90 (95% CI: 0.46 to 1.78); leg amputations, RR = 1.04 (95% CI: 0.44 to 2.44); and microvascular complications, RR = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.59 to 1.17). For all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, there was significant heterogeneity when including the UK Prospective Diabetes Study subgroups (I2 = 41% and 59%). There was significant interaction with sulphonylurea as a concomitant treatment for myocardial infarction (p = 0.10 and 0.02, respectively).

Conclusions

Although metformin is considered the gold standard, its benefit/risk ratio remains uncertain. We cannot exclude a 25% reduction or a 31% increase in all-cause mortality. We cannot exclude a 33% reduction or a 64% increase in cardiovascular mortality. Further studies are needed to clarify this situation.

Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

Editors' Summary

Background

Worldwide, more than 350 million people have diabetes, and this number is increasing rapidly. Diabetes is characterized by dangerous amounts of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Blood sugar levels are normally controlled by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. In people with type 2 diabetes (the most common form of diabetes), blood sugar control fails because the fat and muscle cells that usually respond to insulin by removing excess sugar from the blood become less responsive to insulin. Type 2 diabetes can be controlled with diet and exercise and with antidiabetic pills, each of which works in a different way to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Metformin, for example, stops the liver making glucose and increases the body's response to insulin, whereas sulfonylureas help the pancreas make more insulin. The long-term complications of diabetes, which include an increased risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and stroke, reduce the life expectancy of people with diabetes by about ten years compared to people without diabetes.

Why Was This Study Done?

In 1998, a large randomized clinical trial called the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS 34) reported that metformin in combination with dietary control reduced all-cause mortality in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes when compared to dietary control alone. Specifically, the risk of death from any cause among patients taking metformin was about a third lower than the risk of death among patients not taking metformin—a risk ratio (RR) of 0.64. This reduction in risk was significant (that is, it was unlikely to have occurred by chance) because its 95% confidence interval (95% CI; there is a 95% chance that the “true” RR lies within this interval) of 0.45–0.91 did not overlap 1.0. Given this finding, metformin is now recommended as the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes. However, UKPDS 34 also reported an increase in death in non-overweight patients who took metformin plus sulfonylurea compared to those who took sulfonylurea alone (RR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.02–2.52), a result considered non-significant by the UKPDS 34 researchers and largely ignored ever since. So do the benefits of metformin outweigh its risks? In this meta-analysis, the researchers re-evaluate the risk-to-benefit balance of metformin in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. A meta-analysis is a statistical method that combines the results of several studies.

What Did the Researchers Do and Find?

The researchers identified 13 randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effect of metformin on cardiovascular morbidity (illness) and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. More than 13,000 patients participated in these studies, three-quarters of whom received metformin and a quarter of whom received other treatments or a placebo. Compared to other treatments, metformin treatment had no effect on the risk of all-cause mortality (RR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.75–1.31) or cardiovascular mortality (RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.67–1.64), the primary end points of this study. However, the results of the individual trials varied more than would be expected by chance (“heterogeneity”). Exclusion of the UKPDS 34 trial from the meta-analysis had no effect on the estimated risk ratio for all-cause mortality or cardiovascular deaths, but the heterogeneity disappeared. Finally, metformin treatment had no significant effect on the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure; there was no heterogeneity among the trials for these secondary end points.

What Do These Findings Mean?

These findings show no evidence that metformin has any beneficial effect on all-cause mortality, on cardiovascular mortality, or on cardiovascular morbidity among patients with type 2 diabetes. These findings must be cautiously interpreted because only a few randomized controlled trials were included in this study, and only a few patients died or developed any cardiovascular illnesses. Importantly, however, from these findings, it is impossible to exclude beyond reasonable doubt the possibility that metformin causes up to a 25% reduction or a 31% increase in all-cause mortality. Similarly, these findings cannot exclude the possibility that metformin causes up to a 33% reduction or a 64% increase in cardiovascular mortality. Given that a large number of patients take metformin for many years as a first-line treatment for diabetes, further studies are urgently needed to clarify this situation.

Additional Information

Please access these web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001204.

The International Diabetes Federation provides information about all aspects of diabetes

The US National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse provides information about diabetes for patients, health-care professionals, and the general public, including detailed information on diabetes medicines (in English and Spanish)

The UK National Health Service Choices web site provides information for patients and carers about type 2 diabetes and includes peoples stories about diabetes

The charity Diabetes UK also provides detailed information for patients and carers, including information on diabetes medications, and has a further selection of stories from people with diabetes

MedlinePlus provides links to further resources and advice about diabetes and about diabetes medicines; it also provides information about metformin (in English and Spanish)

The charity Healthtalkonline has interviews with people about their experiences of diabetes and of controlling diabetes with oral medications

An Pan and colleagues examined data from two Nurses' Health Studies and found that extended periods of rotating night shift work were associated with a modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, partly mediated through body weight.

Background

Rotating night shift work disrupts circadian rhythms and has been associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and glucose dysregulation. However, its association with type 2 diabetes remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate this association in two cohorts of US women.

Methods and Findings

We followed 69,269 women aged 42–67 in Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I, 1988–2008), and 107,915 women aged 25–42 in NHS II (1989–2007) without diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at baseline. Participants were asked how long they had worked rotating night shifts (defined as at least three nights/month in addition to days and evenings in that month) at baseline. This information was updated every 2–4 years in NHS II. Self-reported type 2 diabetes was confirmed by a validated supplementary questionnaire. We documented 6,165 (NHS I) and 3,961 (NHS II) incident type 2 diabetes cases during the 18–20 years of follow-up. In the Cox proportional models adjusted for diabetes risk factors, duration of shift work was monotonically associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in both cohorts. Compared with women who reported no shift work, the pooled hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for participants with 1–2, 3–9, 10–19, and ≥20 years of shift work were 1.05 (1.00–1.11), 1.20 (1.14–1.26), 1.40 (1.30–1.51), and 1.58 (1.43–1.74, p-value for trend <0.001), respectively. Further adjustment for updated body mass index attenuated the association, and the pooled hazard ratios were 1.03 (0.98–1.08), 1.06 (1.01–1.11), 1.10 (1.02–1.18), and 1.24 (1.13–1.37, p-value for trend <0.001).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that an extended period of rotating night shift work is associated with a modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women, which appears to be partly mediated through body weight. Proper screening and intervention strategies in rotating night shift workers are needed for prevention of diabetes.

Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

Editors' Summary

Background

Around 346 million people worldwide have diabetes—a chronic disease affecting blood glucose levels, which over time may lead to serious damage in many body systems. In 2004, an estimated 3.4 million people died from consequences of high blood sugar, with more than 80% of deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of people with diabetes and is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity, which causes the body to use insulin ineffectively. One strategy in the public health response to the increasing prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes is to focus on the prevention and management of obesity by targeting risk factors of obesity.

Previous studies have suggested that rotating night shift work, which is common and becoming increasingly prevalent in countries worldwide, is associated with an increased risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome, conditions closely related to type 2 diabetes.

Why Was This Study Done?

Some studies have investigated the association between rotating night shift work and type 2 diabetes but have experienced methodological problems (such as minimal information on the rotating shift work, small sample sizes, and limited study populations), which make interpretation of the results difficult. In this study, the researchers attempted to overcome these methodological issues by prospectively examining the relationship between duration of rotating night shift work and risk of incident type 2 diabetes and, also if the duration of shift work was associated with greater weight gain, in two large cohorts of women in the United States.

What Did the Researchers Do and Find?

The researchers used data from the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I, established in 1976 and included 121,704 women) and the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II, established in 1989 and included 116,677 women), in which participating women completed regular questionnaires about their lifestyle practices and the development of chronic diseases. In both studies, the women also gave information about how long they had done rotating night shifts work (defined as at least three nights/month in addition to 19 days and evenings in that month), and this information was updated at regular intervals over the study follow-up period (18 years). The comparison group was women who did not report a history of rotating night shift work.

To assess the incidence of diabetes in both cohorts, the researchers sent a supplementary questionnaire to women who reported a diagnosis of diabetes, which asked about the symptoms, diagnostic tests, and medical management: if at least one of the National Diabetes Data Group criteria was reported, the researchers considered confirmed a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. The researchers then used statistical methods (time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models) to estimate the hazard ratios of the chance of women working rotating shifts developing type 2 diabetes as a ratio of the chance of women not working rotating shifts developing diabetes.

The researchers found that in NHS I, 6,165 women developed type 2 diabetes and in NHS II 3,961 women developed type 2 diabetes. Using their statistical models, the researchers found that the duration of rotating night shift work was strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in both cohorts. The researchers found that in both cohorts, compared with women who reported no rotating night shift work, the HR of women developing type 2 diabetes, increased with the numbers of years working rotating shifts (the HRs of working rotating shifts for 1–2, 3–9, 10–19, and ≥20 years were 0.99, 1.17, 1.42, and 1.64, respectively, in NHS I, and in NHS II, 1.13, 1.34, 1.76, and 2.50, respectively). However, these associations were slightly weaker after the authors took other factors into consideration, except for body mass index (BMI).

What Do These Findings Mean?

These findings show that in these women, there is a positive association between rotating night shift work and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, long duration of shift work may also be associated with greater weight gain. Although these findings need to be confirmed in men and other ethnic groups, because a large proportion of the working population is involved in some kind of permanent night and rotating night shift work, these findings are of potential public health significance. Additional preventative strategies in rotating night shift workers should therefore be considered.

Additional Information

Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001141.

This study is further discussed in a PLoS Medicine Perspective by Mika Kivimki and colleagues

Wikipedia has information about the Nurses’ Health study (note that Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit; available in several languages)

Detailed information about the Nurses’ Health Study is available

The World Health Organization provides comprehensive information about all kinds of diabetes

For more information about diabetes that is useful for patients see Diabetes UK

A cost-efficient way to increase power in a genetic association study is to pool controls from different sources. The genotyping effort can then be directed to large case series. The Nordic Control database, NordicDB, has been set up as a unique resource in the Nordic area and the data are available for authorized users through the web portal (http://www.nordicdb.org). The current version of NordicDB pools together high-density genome-wide SNP information from ∼5000 controls originating from Finnish, Swedish and Danish studies and shows country-specific allele frequencies for SNP markers. The genetic homogeneity of the samples was investigated using multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis and pairwise allele frequency differences between the studies. The plot of the first two MDS components showed excellent resemblance to the geographical placement of the samples, with a clear NW–SE gradient. We advise researchers to assess the impact of population structure when incorporating NordicDB controls in association studies. This harmonized Nordic database presents a unique genome-wide resource for future genetic association studies in the Nordic countries.

OBJECTIVE

We studied differences between patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), type 2 diabetes, and classical type 1 diabetes diagnosed after age 35 years.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Polymorphisms in HLA-DQB1, INS, PTPN22, and CTLA4 were genotyped in patients with LADA (n = 213), type 1 diabetes diagnosed at >35 years of age (T1D>35y; n = 257) or <20 years of age (T1D<20y; n = 158), and type 2 diabetes.

RESULTS

Although patients with LADA had an increased frequency of HLA-DQB1 and PTPN22 risk genotypes and alleles compared with type 2 diabetic subjects, the frequency was significantly lower compared with T1D>35y patients. Genotype frequencies, measures of insulin secretion, and metabolic traits within LADA differed according to GAD antibody (GADA) quartiles, but even the highest quartile differed from type 1 diabetes. Having two or more risk genotypes was associated with lower C-peptide concentrations in LADA.

CONCLUSIONS

LADA patients differed genetically and phenotypically from both T1D>35y and type 2 diabetic patients in a manner dependent on GADA levels.

Patterns of genetic diversity have previously been shown to mirror geography on a global scale and within continents and individual countries. Using genome-wide SNP data on 5174 Swedes with extensive geographical coverage, we analyzed the genetic structure of the Swedish population. We observed strong differences between the far northern counties and the remaining counties. The population of Dalarna county, in north middle Sweden, which borders southern Norway, also appears to differ markedly from other counties, possibly due to this county having more individuals with remote Finnish or Norwegian ancestry than other counties. An analysis of genetic differentiation (based on pairwise Fst) indicated that the population of Sweden's southernmost counties are genetically closer to the HapMap CEU samples of Northern European ancestry than to the populations of Sweden's northernmost counties. In a comparison of extended homozygous segments, we detected a clear divide between southern and northern Sweden with small differences between the southern counties and considerably more segments in northern Sweden. Both the increased degree of homozygosity in the north and the large genetic differences between the south and the north may have arisen due to a small population in the north and the vast geographical distances between towns and villages in the north, in contrast to the more densely settled southern parts of Sweden. Our findings have implications for future genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with respect to the matching of cases and controls and the need for within-county matching. We have shown that genetic differences within a single country may be substantial, even when viewed on a European scale. Thus, population stratification needs to be accounted for, even within a country like Sweden, which is often perceived to be relatively homogenous and a favourable resource for genetic mapping, otherwise inferences based on genetic data may lead to false conclusions.

Background

Immigrants from the Middle-East are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present survey was to measure, in a single deprived neighbourhood, the prevalence rates of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and T2D in residents originating from Iraq and to compare them to those in residents born in Sweden. An additional aim was to identify metabolic, lifestyle and socioeconomic risk factors associated with IFG/IGT and T2D in these residents.

Methods

The study was conducted February 1'st to March 31'st 2010. Men and women aged 45 to 65 years of Swedish or Iraqi origin, living in the neighbourhood of Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden, were randomly selected from the census register. Each participant signed a written informed consent form, underwent a physical examination and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), provided blood samples and filled in a questionnaire. A total of 175 subjects participated (Swedish origin n = 79, Iraqi origin n = 96), reflecting an overall response rate of almost 60%.

Results

In total, 21.9% and 19.0% of the Iraqi and Swedish participants, respectively, suffered from T2D, while 24.0% of the Iraqi participants and 25.3% of the Swedish participants had IFG/IGT. There were no significant differences in prevalence rates relating to country of origin.

Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and sedentary leisure time physical activity were highly prevalent in both groups, while a family history of diabetes was more prevalent in participants from Iraq (49.2%) than in those from Sweden (22.8%) (p = 0.001).

Being obese or having a sedentary leisure time were, independently associated with T2D (OR 5.43 (95% CI 2.10-14.02) and 2.89 (95% CI 1.03-8.10) respectively), while economic difficulties were independently associated with IFG/IGT (OR 2.55 (95% CI 1.06-6.15)) after adjustment for the confounding effects of other common risk factors for T2D.

Conclusions

This study reveals a high prevalence of T2D, independently of country of origin (Iraq or Sweden), in a socially vulnerable area and additionally presents a risk factor profile that is markedly different from that of Sweden in general.

Human height is a classic, highly heritable quantitative trait. To begin to identify genetic variants influencing height, we examined genome-wide association data from 4,921 individuals. Common variants in the HMGA2 oncogene, exemplified by rs1042725, were associated with height (P = 4 × 10−8). HMGA2 is also a strong biological candidate for height, as rare, severe mutations in this gene alter body size in mice and humans, so we tested rs1042725 in additional samples. We confirmed the association in 19,064 adults from four further studies (P = 3 × 10−11, overall P = 4 × 10−16, including the genome-wide association data). We also observed the association in children (P = 1 × 10−6, N = 6,827) and a tall/short case-control study (P = 4 × 10−6, N = 3,207). We estimate that rs1042725 explains ~0.3% of population variation in height (~0.4 cm increased adult height per C allele). There are few examples of common genetic variants reproducibly associated with human quantitative traits; these results represent, to our knowledge, the first consistently replicated association with adult and childhood height.

Context

Mitochondrial ATP production is important in the regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Genetic factors may modulate the capacity of the β-cells to secrete insulin and thereby contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Objective

The aim of this study was to identify genetic loci in or adjacent to nuclear-encoded genes of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway that are associated with insulin secretion in vivo.

Design and methods

To find polymorphisms associated with glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 1467 non-diabetic individuals, including the Diabetes Genetic Initiative (DGI), was examined. A total of 413 single nucleotide polymorphisms with a minor allele frequency ≥0.05 located in or adjacent to 76 OXPHOS genes were included in the DGI GWAS. A more extensive population-based study of 4323 non-diabetics, the PPP-Botnia, was used as a replication cohort. Insulinogenic index during an oral glucose tolerance test was used as a surrogate marker of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to test genotype–phenotype associations.

Results

Two common variants were identified in the DGI, where the major C-allele of rs606164, adjacent to NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) 1 subunit C2 (NDUFC2), and the minor G-allele of rs1323070, adjacent to cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIIa polypeptide 2 (COX7A2), showed nominal associations with decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (P=0.0009, respective P=0.003). These associations were replicated in PPP-Botnia (P=0.002 and P=0.05).

Conclusion

Our study shows that genetic variation near genes involved in OXPHOS may influence glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vivo.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the relative contribution of increased fasting and postload plasma glucose concentrations to the incidence of type 2 diabetes in subjects with a normal 2-h plasma glucose concentration.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 3,450 subjects with 2-h plasma glucose concentration <140 mg/dl at baseline were followed up in the San Antonio Heart Study (SAHS) and the Botnia Study for 7–8 years. The incidence of type 2 diabetes at follow-up was related to the fasting, 1-h, and 2-h plasma glucose concentrations.

RESULTS

In subjects with 2-h plasma glucose <140 mg/dl, the incidence of type 2 diabetes increased with increasing fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 1-h and 2-h plasma glucose concentrations. In a multivariate logistic analysis, after adjustment for all diabetes risk factors, the FPG concentration was a strong predictor of type 2 diabetes in both the SAHS and the Botnia Study (P < 0.0001). However, when the 1-h plasma glucose, but not 2-h plasma glucose, concentration was added to the model, FPG concentration was no longer a significant predictor of type 2 diabetes in both studies (NS). When subjects were matched for the level of 1-h plasma glucose concentration, the incidence of type 2 diabetes markedly increased with the increase in 1-h plasma glucose, but the increase in FPG was not associated with a significant increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

An increase in postload glycemia in the normal range is associated with an increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes. After controlling for 1-h plasma glucose concentration, the increase in FPG concentration is not associated with an increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE

Stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome. However, the scant evidence available is not population-based, restricting the external validity of the findings. Our aim was to test associations between stressful life events, their accumulation, and the metabolic syndrome in a large population-based cohort. We also tested associations between stress and the individual components related to the metabolic syndrome.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a population-based, random sample of 3,407 women and men aged 18–78 years residing in Western Finland. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III and International Diabetes Federation criteria. The severity of 15 stressful life events pertaining to finance, work, social relationships, health, and housing was self-rated.

RESULTS

In comparison with subjects not reporting any extremely stressful life events, those reporting work- or finance-related events had an increased odds for having the metabolic syndrome. The risk was further increased according to accumulation of stressful finance-related events and to having at least three stressful life events in any of the life domains assessed. Accumulation of stressful life events was associated with insulin resistance, obesity, and triglycerides. The associations were not confounded by sex, age, lifestyle, or family history of diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

Life events perceived as stressful, particularly those related to finance and work, may be a signal for poor metabolic health.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the significance of GAD antibodies (GADAs) and family history for type 1 diabetes (FHT1) or type 2 diabetes (FHT2) in nondiabetic subjects.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

GADAs were analyzed in 4,976 nondiabetic relatives of type 2 diabetic patients or control subjects from Finland. Altogether, 289 (5.9%) were GADA+—a total of 253 GADA+ and 2,511 GADA− subjects participated in repeated oral glucose tolerance tests during a median time of 8.1 years. The risk of progression to diabetes was assessed using Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

Subjects within the highest quartile of GADA+ (GADA+high) had more often first-degree FHT1 (29.2 vs. 7.9%, P < 0.00001) and GADA+ type 2 diabetic (21.3 vs. 13.7%, P = 0.002) or nondiabetic (26.4 vs. 13.3%, P = 0.010) relatives than GADA− subjects. During the follow-up, the GADA+ subjects developed diabetes significantly more often than the GADA− subjects (36/253 [14.2%] vs. 134/2,511 [5.3%], P < 0.00001). GADA+high conferred a 4.9-fold increased risk of diabetes (95% CI 2.8–8.5) compared with GADA−—seroconversion to positive during the follow-up was associated with 6.5-fold (2.8–15.2) and first-degree FHT1 with 2.2-fold (1.2–4.1) risk of diabetes. Only three subjects developed type 1 diabetes, and others had a non–insulin-dependent phenotype 1 year after diagnosis. GADA+ and GADA− subjects did not clinically differ at baseline, but they were leaner and less insulin resistant after the diagnosis of diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

GADA positivity clusters in families with type 1 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes in adults. GADA positivity predicts diabetes independently of family history of diabetes, and this risk was further increased with high GADA concentrations.

Insulin signaling to the brain is important not only for metabolic homeostasis but also for higher brain functions such as cognition. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) decreases neuronal excitability by activating GABAA channels that generate phasic and tonic currents. The level of tonic inhibition in neurons varies. In the hippocampus, interneurons and dentate gyrus granule cells normally have significant tonic currents under basal conditions in contrast to the CA1 pyramidal neurons where it is minimal. Here we show in acute rat hippocamal slices that insulin (1 nM) “turns on” new extrasynaptic GABAA channels in CA1 pyramidal neurons resulting in decreased frequency of action potential firing. The channels are activated by more than million times lower GABA concentrations than synaptic channels, generate tonic currents and show outward rectification. The single-channel current amplitude is related to the GABA concentration resulting in a single-channel GABA affinity (EC50) in intact CA1 neurons of 17 pM with the maximal current amplitude reached with 1 nM GABA. They are inhibited by GABAA antagonists but have novel pharmacology as the benzodiazepine flumazenil and zolpidem are inverse agonists. The results show that tonic rather than synaptic conductances regulate basal neuronal excitability when significant tonic conductance is expressed and demonstrate an unexpected hormonal control of the inhibitory channel subtypes and excitability of hippocampal neurons. The insulin-induced new channels provide a specific target for rescuing cognition in health and disease.

Recently, associations of several common genetic variants with height have been reported in different populations. We attempted to identify further variants associated with adult height in a self-contained population (the Sorbs in Eastern Germany) as discovery set. We performed a genome wide association study (GWAS) (∼390 000 genetic polymorphisms, Affymetrix gene arrays) on adult height in 929 Sorbian individuals. Subsequently, the best SNPs (P < 0.001) were taken forward to a meta-analysis together with two independent cohorts [Diabetes Genetics Initiative, British 1958 Birth Cohort, (58BC, publicly available)]. Furthermore, we genotyped our best signal for replication in two additional German cohorts (Leipzig, n = 1044 and Berlin, n = 1728). In the primary Sorbian GWAS, we identified 5 loci with a P-value < 10−5 and 455 SNPs with P-value < 0.001. In the meta-analysis on those 455 SNPs, only two variants in GPR133 (rs1569019 and rs1976930; in LD with each other) retained a P-value at or below 10−6 and were associated with height in the three cohorts individually. Upon replication, the SNP rs1569019 showed significant effects on height in the Leipzig cohort (P = 0.004, beta = 1.166) and in 577 men of the Berlin cohort (P = 0.049, beta = 1.127) though not in women. The combined analysis of all five cohorts (n = 6,687) resulted in a P-value of 4.7 × 10−8 (beta = 0.949). In conclusion, our GWAS suggests novel loci influencing height. In view of the robust replication in five different cohorts, we propose GPR133 to be a novel gene associated with adult height.

OBJECTIVE

Common variants in FTO (the fat mass– and obesity-associated gene) associate with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The regulation and biological function of FTO mRNA expression in target tissue is unknown. We investigated the genetic and nongenetic regulation of FTO mRNA in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue and their influence on in vivo glucose and fat metabolism.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The FTO rs9939609 polymorphism was genotyped in two twin cohorts: 1) 298 elderly twins aged 62–83 years with glucose tolerance ranging from normal to type 2 diabetes and 2) 196 young (25–32 years) and elderly (58–66 years) nondiabetic twins examined by a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp including indirect calorimetry. FTO mRNA expression was determined in subcutaneous adipose tissue (n = 226) and skeletal muscle biopsies (n = 158).

RESULTS

Heritability of FTO expression in both tissues was low, and FTO expression was not influenced by FTO rs9939609 genotype. FTO mRNA expression in skeletal muscle was regulated by age and sex, whereas age and BMI were predictors of adipose tissue FTO mRNA expression. FTO mRNA expression in adipose tissue was associated with an atherogenic lipid profile. In skeletal muscle, FTO mRNA expression was negatively associated to fat and positively to glucose oxidation rates as well as positively correlated with expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation including PGC1α.

CONCLUSIONS

The heritability of FTO expression in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle is low and not influenced by obesity-associated FTO genotype. The age-dependent decline in FTO expression is associated with peripheral defects of glucose and fat metabolism.

OBJECTIVE

Two independent genome-wide association studies for type 2 diabetes in Japanese subjects have recently identified common variants in the KCNQ1 gene that are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes. Here we studied whether a common variant in KCNQ1 would influence BMI as well as insulin secretion and action and predict future type 2 diabetes in subjects from Sweden and Finland.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Risk of type 2 diabetes conferred by KCNQ1 rs2237895 was studied in 2,830 type 2 diabetic case subjects and 3,550 control subjects from Sweden (Malmö Case-Control) and prospectively in 16,061 individuals from the Malmö Preventive Project (MPP). Association between genotype and insulin secretion/action was assessed cross- sectionally in 3,298 nondiabetic subjects from the Prevalence, Prediction and Prevention of Diabetes (PPP)-Botnia Study and longitudinally in 2,328 nondiabetic subjects from the Botnia Prospective Study (BPS). KCNQ1 expression (n = 18) and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (n = 19) were measured in human islets from nondiabetic cadaver donors.

RESULTS

The C-allele of KCNQ1 rs2237895 was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in both the Malmö Case-Control (odds ratio 1.23 [95% CI 1.12–1.34]; P = 5.6 × 10−6) and the prospective (1.14 [1.06–1.22]; P = 4.8 × 10−4) studies. Furthermore, the C-allele was associated with decreased insulin secretion (corrected insulin response [CIR] P = 0.013; disposition index [DI] P = 0.013) in the PPP-Botnia Study and in the BPS at baseline (CIR P = 3.6 × 10−4; DI P = 0.0058) and after follow-up (CIR P = 0.0018; DI P = 0.0030). C-allele carriers showed reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in human islets (P = 2.5 × 10−6).

CONCLUSIONS

A common variant in the KCNQ1 gene is associated with increased risk of future type 2 diabetes in Scandinavians, which partially can be explained by an effect on insulin secretion.

For most associations of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with common diseases, the genetic model of inheritance is unknown. The authors extended and applied a Bayesian meta-analysis approach to data from 19 studies on 17 replicated associations with type 2 diabetes. For 13 SNPs, the data fitted very well to an additive model of inheritance for the diabetes risk allele; for 4 SNPs, the data were consistent with either an additive model or a dominant model; and for 2 SNPs, the data were consistent with an additive or recessive model. Results were robust to the use of different priors and after exclusion of data for which index SNPs had been examined indirectly through proxy markers. The Bayesian meta-analysis model yielded point estimates for the genetic effects that were very similar to those previously reported based on fixed- or random-effects models, but uncertainty about several of the effects was substantially larger. The authors also examined the extent of between-study heterogeneity in the genetic model and found generally small between-study deviation values for the genetic model parameter. Heterosis could not be excluded for 4 SNPs. Information on the genetic model of robustly replicated association signals derived from genome-wide association studies may be useful for predictive modeling and for designing biologic and functional experiments.