Genetic and environmental components of family history in type 2 diabetes.

ABSTRACT: Family history of diabetes is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but whether this association derives from shared genetic or environmental factors is unclear. To address this question, we developed a statistical framework that models four components of variance, including known and unknown genetic and environmental factors, using a liability threshold model. Focusing on parental history, we simulated case-control studies with two first-degree relatives for each individual, assuming 50 % genetic similarity and a range of values of environmental similarity. By comparing the association of parental history with T2D in our simulations to case-control studies of T2D nested in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, we estimate that first-degree relatives h

SUBMITTER: Cornelis MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4293229 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature