30 Jul Gestational Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Share Similar Genetic Background

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Henna Cederberg MD PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital Department of Medicine
70210 Kuopio, Finland

MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study?

Dr. Cederberg: The association of risk variants previously identified for type 2 diabetes and hyperglycemia with gestational diabetes were evaluated in 533 Finnish women with gestational diabetes and 407 controls.

The main finding of the study was that gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes share a similar genetic background. Two risk variants of MTNR1B were significantly associated with gestional diabetes. Our study suggests that risk variants of MTNR1B are associated with gestational diabetes by increasing fasting glucose and decreasing insulin secretion.  In addition, another six single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with type 2 diabetes and hyperglycemia were nominally associated with gestational diabetes.

MedicalResearch.com:  Were any of the findings unexpected?

Dr. Cederberg: Not really. Gestational diabetes is known to be an important risk factor for subsequent type 2 diabetes in women, which supports our main finding that these two share a common genetic background.

MedicalResearch.com:  What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Cederberg: Women with a genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of gestational diabetes. Furthermore, the increased risk of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes reflects the common genetic basis between the two conditions.

MedicalResearch.com:  What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Cederberg: Data on the genetic basis of gestational diabetes is relatively scarce, and it would be important to further evaluate it in different, sufficiently large study populations.

Citation:

Association of Risk Variants for Type 2 Diabetes and Hyperglycemia with Gestational Diabetes

Huopio H, Cederberg H, Vangipurapu J, Hakkarainen H, Pääkkönen M, Kuulasmaa T, Heinonen S, Laakso M.

H Huopio, Department of Pediatrics, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
Eur J Endocrinol. 2013 Jun 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Last Updated on July 30, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD