What is it about?
Types 2 diabetes is a disease that was once almost exclusively among adults, but its prevalence has been increasing dramatically in children. We wanted to evaluate if the genetics that contribute to adult T2D played a role in glucose-insulin homeostasis in a population of youth from about 10-16 years old.
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Why is it important?
There have been very few genetic studies of youth-onset T2D. Understanding the genetics of this condition is particularly important because prevention is far preferable to disease management and treatment – and prevention earlier in life is more likely to be effective than later. T2D has a wealth of complications (neuropathy, vision degradation, cardiovascular disease, renal disease), and so prevention is really important. Our work also suggests that maintaining a healthy weight might be particularly important for children who have higher genetic predisposition for T2D.
Perspectives
The long-term goal for clinical integration of genetic information is that as genetic testing becomes more common, genetic risk scores could be calculated within the medical record. Then clinicians could use this information to counsel their patients about their risk for various diseases and prevention measures.
Dr. Maggie Stanislawski
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Genetic Risk Score for Type 2 Diabetes and Traits Related to Glucose-Insulin Homeostasis in Youth: The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes Among Children (EPOCH) Study, Diabetes Care, July 2021, American Diabetes Association,
DOI: 10.2337/dc21-0464.
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