Published in:
01-09-2011 | Commentary
Type 2 diabetes: unravelling the interaction between genetic predisposition and lifestyle
Authors:
W. Rathmann, B. Kowall, G. Giani
Published in:
Diabetologia
|
Issue 9/2011
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Excerpt
The high concordance rate of type 2 diabetes in monozygotic twins, the increased risk of diabetes in the offspring of affected parents and the difference in the prevalence of diabetes between various ethnic groups suggest a high heritability for this disorder [
1]. On the other hand, modern societies are characterised by intense urbanisation, which is linked to tremendous environmental and behavioural changes: physical inactivity, an energy-dense diet, psychosocial stress and exposure to environmental pollutants [
1‐
3]. The descriptive epidemiology of type 2 diabetes suggests that the interaction between genetic susceptibility and these modern lifestyle factors, as well as environmental risk factors, is critical to the development of the disease [
1]. …