Aims: To document the family transmission of Type 2 diabetes to men and women.
Method: The French D.E.S.I.R. cohort followed men and women over 9 years, with 3-yearly testing for incident Type 2 diabetes. First- and/or second-degree family histories of diabetes were available for 2187 men and 2282 women. Age-adjusted hazard ratios were estimated for various family members and groupings of family members, as well as for a genetic diabetes risk score, based on 65 diabetes-associated loci.
Results: Over 9 years, 136 men and 63 women had incident Type 2 diabetes. The hazard ratios for diabetes associated with having a first-degree family member with diabetes (parents, siblings, children) differed between men [1.21 (95% CI 0.80, 1.85)] and women [3.02 (95% CI 1.83, 4.99); Pinteraction =0.006]. The genetic risk score was predictive of diabetes in both men and women, with similar hazard ratios 1.10 (95% CI 1.06, 1.15) and 1.08 (95% CI 1.02, 1.14) respectively, for each additional at-risk allele. In women, the risk associated with having a family member with diabetes persisted after adjusting for the genetic score.
Conclusion: Women with a family history of diabetes (paternal or maternal) were at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and this risk was independent of a genetic score; in contrast, for men, there was no association. Diabetes screening and prevention may need to more specifically target women with diabetes in their family, but further studies are required as the number of people with diabetes in this study was small.
© 2017 Diabetes UK.