Scientists Have Named The Most Important Risk Factor For Diabetes

Scientists have named the most important risk factor for diabetes

According to the latest data, obesity increases the likelihood of developing diabetes by six times. In the new study, genetic factors were found to be less influential than previously thought.

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A large study from Denmark showed that obesity is the most influential factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. Its results are published in the journal Diabetologia. The genetic risk factors for diabetes have previously been overestimated, new evidence suggests.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus develops somewhat more often in people with a genetic predisposition, with obesity and under the influence of adverse lifestyle factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, poor diet and low physical activity.

Obese people were almost six times more likely to develop diabetes than those who did not. Being overweight, which cannot be classified as obesity, increased the risk of diabetes significantly less - by 49%.

In people with known genetic risk factors, the likelihood of developing diabetes was 2 times higher, unfavorable lifestyle factors increased the likelihood of its occurrence by “only” 18%.

When all of these factors were combined, the likelihood of developing diabetes increased 14 times.

The study included 4729 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 5402 randomly selected Danes, some of whom developed diabetes during the observation period (on average over 14 years).

The authors noted that their results differ from the data of previous studies, the role of genetic factors was usually assessed higher.