New risk factors for type 2 diabetes uncovered

A new ‘global atlas’ study characterizes insomnia as a novel risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. In total, the researchers identified 19 risk factors and dismissed 21 suggestive risk factors based on insufficient scientific evidence.

New research indicates insomnia is a possible risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Globally, around 463 million adults lived with diabetes in 2019, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). In 2015, approximately 9% of all adults had the condition.

Diabetes is a condition where sugar or glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of being absorbed into cells. This occurs when cells either lose their ability to produce the hormone insulin or, in type 2 diabetes, they develop insulin resistance and are unable to use it productively. 

Over the years, researchers discovered certain factors increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These potential risk factors include alcohol consumption, skipping breakfast, daytime napping, anxiety disorders, urinary sodium, certain amino acids and inflammatory factors, and lack of sleep.

A new study that appears in the journal Diabetologia identifies 19 risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The Sweden-based researchers further evaluated 21 risk factors that have scarce evidence, and another 15 that reduce the risk of the condition.

Mendelian randomization

The team used a method called ‘Mendelian randomization’ (MR) to obtain their findings. This technique blends genetic information and conventional epidemiological methods. It also addresses questions related to causality without biases that could compromise the validity of epidemiological approaches.

Associate professor Susanna Larsson and Shuai Yuan of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, used data from the Diabetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis consortium. The duo evaluated 74,124 cases of type 2 diabetes and 824,006 control participants with European ancestry for the study population. The participants’ mean age was around 55 years, and 51.8% of them were male. 

The researchers then screened 238 studies before including 40 individual papers in their MR investigation. Among the 97 factors they looked at, only 19 increased diabetes risk. 

Insomnia was identified as a novel risk factor — people living with the condition are 17% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those without it.