Genetic risk indicators help predict type 2 diabetes in people of South Asian descent

According to a new study published May 19 in an open access journal, combining genetic risk with clinical risk improved the prognosis of type 2 diabetes in British Pakistanis and British Bangladeshis, especially in young people. MEDICINE PLOS Sarah Feiner of Queen Mary University of London, UK, and colleagues.

Common genetic changes associated with type 2 diabetes have been widely studied in people of European descent. However, it is not known whether all previous findings can be applied to people of South Asian descent who suffer disproportionately but are also underrepresented in genetic studies. The new study used genomic and conventional health data from Genes & Health, an extensive population-based study of British Pakistanis and British Bangladeshis, including 7,599 diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found significant genetic differences in type 2 risk of diabetes compared to what has been observed in previous studies on European populations. Of the 338 genetic loci found in European populations, only 76 (22.5%) were transmitted to populations of British Pakistanis and British Bangladeshis. The team then built type 2 diabetes polygenic risk assessment for the population in the study. Combined with QDiabetes, a commonly used clinical risk indicator, the tool has improved the prognosis of type 2 diabetes (OR on SD 1.57, 95% CI 1.50–1.65). The tool was particularly effective in assessing the risk of British Pakistanis and British Bangladeshis under the age of 40 (net reclassification index 5.6%, 95% CI 3.6-7.6%), as well as in predicting the development of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes. Finally, polygenic risk assessment was able to identify subgroups of diseases that are associated with differences in the risk of future complications of diabetes.

“Our work emphasizes the importance of greater representation of different ancestral groups genetic research type 2 diabetes, “the authors say.” Our polygenic risk assessment has many potential uses, but importantly, it has helped identify young, otherwise healthy people who actually lived in a high-risk group for type 2 diabetes, 1 of 20 of which could be mistakenly labeled as low risk by modern clinical risk instruments. Our work also shows the potential use of polygenic risk scores to characterize different subgroups of diseases when diagnosing that have different rates of progression to complications of diabetes. ”

Feiner adds: “We hope that polygenic risk assessments will be accepted clinical care in the future, after careful evaluation, to understand their potential to improve health outcomes with cost-effectiveness and with the different populations that need it most. ”