Can healthy lifestyle patterns help reduce type 2 diabetes risk among people with elevated genetic susceptibility? A longitudinal study co-authored by GCDTR’s Hardy Dale, Tennille Leak-Johnson,PhD, MS and colleagues examined how ancestry-specific polygenic risk scores, dietary patterns, physical activity, and metabolic burden were associated with incident type 2 diabetes.
The analysis included 8,283 European American and 1,205 African American participants from seven National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute studies. Key findings included: • Higher polygenic risk scores were associated with greater type 2 diabetes risk in both ancestry groups. • The association was stronger among African American participants than European American participants.
• DASH and Mediterranean dietary patterns were associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk. The findings highlight the importance of studying genetic susceptibility alongside diet, physical activity, ancestry, and metabolic health. They also support further research into targeted prevention strategies for people at elevated risk of type 2 diabetes.
