New Genetic Risk Factors For Type 2 Diabetes

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified genetic variants that influence risk of type 2 diabetes, although together they explain just a small fraction of the genetic contribution to the disease. A large consortium of scientists has carried out a 'meta-analysis' combining three previously published studies in order to identify additional risk factors. They found six variants to be strongly associated with type 2 diabetes, and each was replicated in an independent sample of more then 50,000 individuals. Although the particular genes affected by these variants will require additional genetic mapping, the candidates provide potential new insights into the pathogenesis of the disease.

All told the results suggest that genome scans of tens of thousands of individuals will be required to complete the picture of the genetic underpinnings of common, complex diseases.

Author contacts:

Mark McCarthy (University of Oxford, UK)
E-mail: mark.mccarthy@drl.ox.ac.uk

Michael Boehnke (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
E-mail: boehnke@umich.edu

David Altshuler (Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA)
E-mail: altshuler@molbio.mgh.harvard.edu

Abstract available online.

(C) Nature Genetics press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza