Higher genetic risk linked to increased mortality risk, especially among obese non-Hispanic whites
FRIDAY, Feb. 19, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Type 2 diabetes (T2D)-related genetic variants predict all-cause mortality, even after adjustment for body mass index (BMI), according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Diabetes Care.
Aaron Leong, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined the correlation between T2D-related genetic variants and mortality. Mortality risk was modeled using a genetic risk score (GRS) from a weighted sum of risk alleles at 38 T2D-related single nucleotide polymorphisms. The correlation with mortality was assessed in 6,501 participants, in age-, sex-, and BMI-adjusted models.
The researchers found that 1,556 participants died over 17 years. GRS correlated with mortality risk (odds ratio, 1.04 per T2D-associated risk allele; P = 0.05). GRS correlated positively with mortality risk in non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black populations, but not in Mexican-Americans. The negative trend in Mexican-Americans was primarily due to those with BMI <25 mg/m². The positive association in non-Hispanic whites was strongest among those with BMI ≥30 kg/m².
“In the United States, a higher T2D genetic risk was associated with increased mortality risk, especially among obese non-Hispanic whites,” the authors write. “The underlying genetic basis for mortality likely involves complex interactions with factors related to ethnicity, T2D, and body weight.”
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