Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – Type 2 diabetes continues to be a concerning issue across the UK with a significant proportion of the population having the condition with increases in more younger populations in recent years.
A recent study has found that analyzing alterations in DNA in the blood may enhance the ability to predict an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes within a decade.
Researchers viewed at the influence of these alterations with DNA methylation together with other risk factors in roughly fifteen thousand individuals in forecasting the chance of developing the condition years ahead of any symptoms forming.
The findings may bring about preventative measures implemented earlier, lowering the economic and health burden resulting from type 2 diabetes.
Methylation is a process that involves the addition of a methyl group (CH3) to a molecule, typically DNA, RNA, or proteins. In the context of DNA, methylation involves the addition of a methyl group to the cytosine base of a DNA molecule, typically at a CpG site (a cytosine base followed by a guanine base). This process is catalyzed by enzymes known as DNA methyltransferases.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh observed that the including DNA methylation data together with the risk factors increased the precise nature of the prediction.
Over 4.9 million individuals live with diabetes in the UK, with 90% of those with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers utilized their results to make an estimation on the predictive performance using a hypothetical screening scenario of 10,000 individuals, where 1 in 3 individuals get type 2 diabetes in a 10-year period.
“It is promising that our findings were observed in the Scottish and German studies with both showing an improvement in prediction above and beyond commonly used risk factors. Delaying onset is important as diabetes is a risk factor for other common diseases, including dementias,” said Yipeng Cheng a PhD student, from the Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.
