The Genetic Basis of Type 2 Diabetes in Hispanics and Latin Americans: Challenges and Opportunities.

ABSTRACT: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects 415 million people worldwide, and has a much higher prevalence in Hispanics (16.9%), compared to non-Hispanic whites (10.2%). Genome-wide association studies and whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing studies have discovered more than 100 genetic regions associated with modified risk for T2D. However, the identified genetic factors explain a very small fraction of the estimated heritability. Until recently, little attention has been put in studying other non European populations that suffer from a higher burden of T2D, such as Hispanics/Latinos. In the past few years, genetic studies in Hispanic populations have started to provide new insights into the genetic architecture of T2D in this ancestry group. Of note, several genetic variants that are absent or ver

SUBMITTER: Mercader JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5763127 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature