New study identifies markers to better predict Type 2 Diabetes risk
UCLA Nursing's Dr. Su Yon Jung brings genetics expertise to international research team
A new study co-authored by UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing Associate Professor Su Yon Jung, PhD, MPH, and her team has been published in Nature Medicine.
The study, “Circulating metabolites, genetics and lifestyle factors in relation to future risk of type 2 diabetes,” has identified a novel blood signature to help predict a patient’s risk for Type 2 Diabetes. For this work, more than 10 international and domestic scientific groups collaborated, integrating over 23,000 initially type 2 diabetes (T2D)-free participants who were follow-up for a mean of 26 years of follow-up. Dr. Jung led and supported this project, involving one of the largest prospective cohorts, Women’s Health Initiative, as the Associate Member of the Study with her expertise in genetic and epigenetic molecular epidemiology.
With 469 metabolites examined, a half are associated with incident T2D, of which 67 were novel across divers tissues involving complex metabolic pathways. In particular, genetic analyses linked these metabolites reveled mechanisms central to T2D pathophysiology, with synergistic impact of interplay with lifestyle factors-particularly physical activity, obesity and diet.
“We acknowledge that without equal importance of domestic and international collaborations, this work would not have been made,” said Dr. Jung.
She contributed to this project as a member of NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program and a representative of the WHI Study Center, particularly in the Epigenetics and Diabetes Working Groups from the TOPMed.
