Homogeneity in the association of body mass index with type 2 diabetes across the UK Biobank: A Mendelian randomization study

by Michael Wainberg, Anubha Mahajan, Anshul Kundaje, Mark I. McCarthy, Erik Ingelsson, Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, Manuel A. Rivas BackgroundLifestyle interventions to reduce body mass index (BMI) are critical public health strategies for type 2 diabetes prevention. While weight loss interventions have shown demonstrable benefit for high-risk and prediabetic individuals, we aimed to determine whether the same benefits apply to those at lower risk. Methods and findingsWe performed a multi-stratum Mendelian randomization study of the effect size of BMI on diabetes odds in 287,394 unrelated individuals of self-reported white British ancestry in the UK Biobank, who were recruited from across the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2010 when they were between the ages of 40 and 69 years. Individuals were stratified on the following diabetes risk factors: BMI, diabetes family history, and genome-wide diabetes polygenic risk score. The main outcome measure was the odds ratio of diabetes per 1-kg/m2 BMI reduction, in the full cohort and in each stratum. Diabetes prevalence increased sharply with BMI, family history of diabetes, and genetic risk. Conversely, predicted risk reduction from weight loss was strikingly similar across BMI and genetic risk categories. Weight loss was predicted to substantially reduce diabetes odds even among lower-risk individuals: for instance, a 1-kg/m2 BMI reduction was associated with a 1.37-fold reduction (95% CI 1.12 –1.68) in diabetes odds among non-overweight ...
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research