New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) Genetic analyses have revealed there are populations in India that are under-studied for diabetes, with scientists calling for a more inclusive approach to ensure equitable management of the disease across the country.
A study conducted on India’s corporate professionals has suggested how genetic variants related to occupational stress, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity could be interacting, thereby setting this section of society up for a higher risk of diabetes.
Lead author of the study, Varun Sharma, head, research and development division, NMC Genetics India Pvt. Ltd., Haryana, told PTI, “Interestingly, we found about half of our sample to be pre-diabetic or diabetic — their blood parameters were uncertain, but they were not aware of it.”
“Therefore, we hypothesised there has to be something else, in addition to one’s environment, that is making them produce more glucose in the blood. Here, we found that it is the genetic architecture,” he said.
A genetic variant, or gene mutation, is a permanent change in one’s DNA sequence that makes up a gene. A gene variant can either be inherited or develop at some point in an individual’s life.
The team analysed blood samples of 680 working professionals aged 24-50 years — over 280 with type 2 diabetes, and the rest without.
The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, revealed 42 gene variants that provided “a strong risk predisposition to type 2 diabetes”.
Further, looking into how these variants interacted — an ‘interactive analysis’ — “depicted the elevated risk” of diabetes in this population.
“The interactive analysis of the 42 associated genetic variants with occupational stress, unhealthy diet, and physical activity was evaluated to determine the complex mechanism behind the predisposition of T2D (type 2 diabetes) in young Indian professionals,” the authors wrote.
Some of these 42 gene variants, such as those involved in regulating glucose and risk of developing obesity, were found to be “significantly interacting” with the environmental factors — stress, diet and exercise — thereby causing corporate professionals to become more vulnerable to diabetes.
Other gene variants were significantly associated with various risk factors of diabetes, including blood pressure, LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol and triglyceride levels, the authors said.
The study is the “first corporate-based genetic screening” of diabetes in India, even as diabetes cases increase across metros in the country, the authors said.
Sharma added that the evidence supports the ‘thrifty hypothesis’, which was proposed in 1962 by geneticist James V. Neel.
The hypothesis suggests that a historical exposure to harsh, resource-scarce conditions, such as famines, promoted a ‘natural selection’ of certain genes for survival, including those responsible for producing high glucose.
“However, what has changed is that we are not hunters or gatherers today,” Sharma said.
“The only way we could explore the hypothesis was by looking at corporate professionals, who are spending more time doing deskbound jobs than field ones,” he explained.
The findings can help develop personalised care, including strategies and interventions, tailored to a person’s distinct genetic profile, they added.
Another study, by researchers, including those from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute for Research in Environmental Health, Madhya Pradesh, reviewed scientific studies published up to September 2024 to identify ‘single nucleotide polymorphisms’ — the most common type of gene variations — related to type 2 diabets in the Indian population.
The results, published in The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia journal, exposed a significant imbalance in Indian regions covered in genetic studies, “with a pronounced focus on the North and South, leaving the East, West, and Northeast regions under explored”.
The study advocated for a more inclusive approach in diabetes research in India, crucial for recognising how diabetes risk varies across regions, the authors said.
The approach also improves accuracy of risk prediction and helps develop targeted interventions and preventive measures, thereby contributing towards managing diabetes equitably across India’s diverse landscape, they added.
