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Swedish scientists from Karolinska University analyzed the causes of type 2 diabetes. They used the Mendelian randomization (MR) method for their research, which replaced experimental studies. The results published in the medical journal “Diabetologia” are quite surprising. People with insomnia are 17 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease causing too much glucose (sugar) in the blood as a result of abnormal insulin secretion and / or function. In contrast, type 2 diabetes is characterized by tissue resistance to the action of this hormone. In other words, the pancreas makes insulin, but the fatty tissue prevents it from working. As a result, the blood glucose level remains high all the time. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 85 – 90 percent. all cases of this disease. And its consequences are damage or dysfunction of the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels, among others.
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What was the Swedish study about?
Researchers checked data from 1360 articles and reviews of the diabetes literature available in PubMed. Using the MR method, they found 170 possible risk factors for its occurrence, of which 97 were taken into account.
The MR method explores the causal relationships between various modifiable risk factors and health, using the variability of genes with known functions.
As a result, 19 risk factors for type 2 diabetes and 15 factors that protect us against this disease were identified. It turned out that people suffering from insomnia are up to 17 percent. more likely to have type 2 diabetes than those who do not have trouble sleeping.
Primary and secondary risk factors for type 2 diabetes
A Swedish study also found that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is influenced by depression, abnormal blood pressure, smoking, drinking coffee (caffeine consumption), high levels of amino acids – isoleucine, valine and leucine – in the blood, abnormal liver function (manifested by caffeine). high levels of the enzyme alanine aminotransferase), childhood and adulthood body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat, intrinsic fat mass, resting heart rate, and blood levels of four fatty acids.
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On the other hand, minor risk factors are: alcohol consumption, skipping breakfast, taking naps during the day, too little sleep, sodium levels in the urine, levels of certain amino acids and inflammatory factors.
Factors protecting against disease
As factors protecting against the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, the Swedish researchers mentioned: the presence of alanine in plasma (so-called good cholesterol and total cholesterol), age at the onset of menstruation, testosterone levels, sex hormone binding globulin (adjusted for BMI), weight birth, height in adulthood, in women lean body mass (LBM, i.e. the mass of active tissues and skeleton excluding adipose tissue), plasma fatty acids, vitamin D and … education.
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