How Old Is Type 2 Diabetes?

In a recent Nature paper the authors examine Mexican and Latin Americans for genetic markers of those afflicted with Type 2 Diabetes. The found that the genetic marker related to control of Triglycerides was one originating from Neanderthal ancestors, prevalent in this class but not so in Asians, Europeans or Africans. They state:

The risk haplotype carries four amino acid substitutions, all in SLC16A11; it is present at 50%frequency in NativeAmerican samples and 10%in eastAsian, but is rare in European andAfrican samples. Analysis of an archaic genome sequence indicated that the risk haplotype introgressed  intomodern humans via admixture with Neanderthals.

It is interesting to see this but then again there is the basic issue that obesity is a major driver, although there may be an aggravating genetic issue as well. One often sees populations where for generations there were poor nutritional basics and then they have excess food that Type 2 Diabetes accompanies obesity, the Irish being a classic example.

Dr. Lewis on PLOS has an excellent analysis of this paper. Lewis is a highly perceptive and articulate analyst of these topics and she is always worth reading. The sad part is the first comment is an accusation of racism which appears to be based on the Neanderthal comment. Sad to think that people just jump on something that perhaps they have no knowledge of what they speak.

But back to the results. I have read through many of the GWAS studies and fell the same way as Lewis. Yet I would take it a bit further because the driving element is obesity and not necessarily the genetic effects. I suspect the genetic effects may exacerbate the problem but if the BMI were driven below 22.5 one almost always sees the HgA1b driven below 5.0.

Notwithstanding this is a well done paper and worth following.