A genetic variation common in people of African ancestry is associated with an increased risk of complications from diabetes, including diabetic retinopathy, according to a report published June 25 in the journal Nature Medicine . The investigators found that the diagnosis of diabetes and treatment needed to prevent diabetes complications may be delayed in people who carry the variant, G6PDdef, because it is associated with reduced levels of HbA1c, a widely used clinical marker of blood glucose levels. Testing for genetic variations that cause G6PD deficiency could lead to improvements in the way clinicians diagnose and treat diabetes, thereby helping to reduce the long-observed disparity in diabetes complications between individuals of European and African ancestries, the paper concluded.
The multi-institutional study was led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and Million Veteran Program (MVP) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Emory University School of Medicine, and the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Healthcare System.
"This discovery could lead to changes in the way diabetes is managed for millions of patients in the U.S. and around the world," said Todd Edwards, PhD, MS, the paper's co-corresponding author with Ayush Giri, PhD.
Both are VUMC faculty members affiliated with the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. "More needs to be done, such as health economics and policy studies, and clinical trials, t.
