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Different prevalence of T2DM risk alleles in Roma population in comparison with the majority Czech population
Jaroslav A Hubáček1, Lenka Šedová2, Věra Olišarová2
1Centre for Experimental Medicine, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic.
Background:
The Czech governmental study suggests up to a 25% higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Roma population than within the majority population. It is not known whether and to what extent these differences have a genetic background.
Methods:
To analyze whether the frequencies of the alleles/genotypes of the FTO, TCF7L2, CDKN2A/2B, MAEA, TLE4, IGF2BP2, ARAP1, and KCNJ11 genes differ between the two major ethnic groups in the Czech Republic, we examined them in DNA samples from 302 Roma individuals and 298 Czech individuals.
Results:
Compared to the majority population, Roma are more likely to carry risk alleles in the FTO (26% vs. 16% GG homozygotes, p < .01), IGF2BP2 (22% vs. 10% TT homozygotes, p < .0001), ARAP1 (98% vs. 95% of A allele carriers, p < .005), and CDKN2A/2B (81% vs. 66% of TT homozygotes, p < .001) genes; however, less frequently they are carriers of the TCF7L2 risk allele (34% vs. 48% of the T allele p < .0005). Finally, we found significant accumulation of T2DM-associated alleles between the Roma population in comparison with the majority population (25.4% vs. 15.2% of the carriers of at least 12 risk alleles; p < .0001).
Conclusion:
The increased prevalence of T2DM in the Roma population may have a background in different frequencies of the risk alleles of genes associated with T2DM development.
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