Biological mechanisms link dietary quality to T2D risk

A recent study has found novel biological pathways that show the association of certain dietary patterns with the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Researchers explored the relationship between the AHEI and DASH diet quality scores and 1,317 plasma proteins in African American participants of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS: n=1,878). They validated these findings in a Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort (n=2,395) and examined in relation to T2D incidence (n=539 cases).

Thirteen proteins were found to show consistent association with the AHEI and DASH scores, with the most robust associations for the AHEI score and eGFR (β, 0.089; SE, 0.017; q<0.001) and for the DASH score and tissue factor (β, ‒0.114; SE: 0.022; q<0.001). Many of these proteins were associated with inflammation, thrombosis, adipogenesis, and glucose metabolism.

In the Asian cohort, the risk of T2D correlated with concentrations of myeloperoxidase, eGFR, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, coagulation factor Xa, contactin 4, kynureninase, neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1, and vesicular integral-membrane protein VIP36.

The odds ratio of diabetes for a twofold higher protein abundance concentration ranged from 0.03 (95 percent confidence interval [CI] for neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1 to 3.04 (95 percent CI, 2.13‒4.33) for kynureninase. Diabetes risk also significantly correlated with genetic markers for myeloperoxidase and hepatocyte growth factor receptor.

“Our study across geographically and ethnically diverse populations identified robust protein biomarkers for healthy dietary patterns,” the researchers said.