Ancestry Specific Polygenic Risk Score, Dietary Patterns, Physical Activity and Incident Type 2 Diabetes

It is unknown whether the impact of lifestyle could mitigate the genetically driven high-risk polygenic risk score (PRS) in different ancestries.

We determined associations and interactions between high-risk PRS, dietary patterns, physical activity, and metabolic burden and their impact on incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in European Americans and African Americans. A secondary aim determined ancestry-specific PRS-mapped genes associated molecular pathways.

Our longitudinal study (1976-2015) utilized de-identified data for European American (n = 8,283) and African American (n = 1,205) from 7-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Candidate Gene Association Resource studies from the Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes. We assessed results using biased-corrected odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

African Americans had a higher magnitude of incident T2DM risk for the high-risk PRS alone (OR = 1.61; 95% CI:1.22-2.12) than European Americans (OR = 1.24; 95% CI:1.06-1.45) in highest tertile compared to lowest tertile. We observed protective risks from incident T2DM with the Dietary Approaches to Stop High Blood Pressure (DASH) and Mediterranean diets (p < 0.025). However, entangling effects from the high-quality DASH/Mediterranean diets with the low-quality Southern diet and the high-risk PRS further increased T2DM risks (p < 0.025). The PRS-diet-physical activity associations had 9% protective T2DM risk for Mediterranean diet in African Americans and at least 5% for European Americans (p < 0.025). Interactions revealed the second tertile DASH and highest tertile Mediterranean diets in high-risk PRS-high metabolic burden, attenuated incident T2DM risk. Gene enrichment molecular pathways common to ancestries included neurogenerative diseases, lipid metabolism, and glucose metabolism.

Patients in the highest PRS tertiles with high metabolic burden could be targeted for early intervention to decrease T2DM risk. The DASH and Mediterranean diets with high physical activity should be recommended by clinicians for better prevention, detrimental molecular pathway reversal, and to decrease worsening of T2DM from high metabolic burden.