Additive interaction of family medical history of diabetes with hypertension on the diagnosis of diabetes among older adults in India: longitudinal ageing study in India

The present study aimed to estimate the additive interaction of family history of diabetes and hypertension on the diagnosis of diabetes among individuals aged 45 years and above in India. The coexistence of these two exposures may act synergistically on the risk of diabetes, leading to adverse health outcomes.

The study utilized the data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1 (2017–2018). The total sample size for the current study was 58,612 individuals aged 45 years and above. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to determine the individual and joint effect of a family history of diabetes with hypertension on diabetes. An additive model was applied to assess the interaction effect of the family medical history of diabetes with hypertension on the diagnosis of diabetes by calculating three different measures of additive interaction such as the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attribution proportion due to interaction (AP), and synergy index (S).

The prevalence of diabetes was three times higher among individuals with family history of diabetes (27.8% vs. 9.2%) than those without family history. Individuals with family history of diabetes (AOR: 2.47, CI: 2.11 2.89) had 2.47 times higher odds of having diabetes than those without family history. The prevalence of diabetes was significantly higher among individuals with hypertension and family history of diabetes (46.6%, 95% CI: 39.7–53.6) than those without the coexistence of family history of diabetes and hypertension (9.9%, 95% CI: 9.5–10.4), individuals with hypertension and without a family history of diabetes (22.7%, 95% CI: 21.2–24.2), and individuals with family history of diabetes and without hypertension (16.5%, 95% CI: 14.5–18.7). Moreover, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of the joint effect between family medical history of diabetes and hypertension on diabetes was 9.28 (95% CI: 7.51–11.46). In the adjusted model, the RERI, AP, and S for diabetes were 3.5 (95% CI: 1.52–5.47), 37% (0.37; 95% CI: 0.22–0.51), and 1.69 (95% CI: 1.31–2.18) respectively, which indicates that there is a significant positive interaction between family history of diabetes and hypertension on the diagnosis of diabetes. The study findings on interaction effects further demonstrate consistent results for two models of hypertension (self-reported hypertension and hypertensive individuals receiving medication) even after adjustment with potential confounding factors on diabetes (self-reported diabetes and individuals with diabetes receiving medication).

The study findings strongly suggest that the interaction of family history of diabetes with hypertension has a positive and significant effect on the risk of diabetes even after adjustment with potential confounding factors. Furthermore, the findings indicate a synergistic effect, emphasizing the importance of considering both family medical history of diabetes and hypertension when assessing diabetes risk and designing preventive strategies or interventions.