Might Inflammatory Markers Predict Development Of Type 2 Diabetes In Adults?
Markers of inflammation may predict the development of diabetes mellitus in adults [according to a subanalysis of data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.]
Because markers of inflammation are raised in patients with type 2 diabetes, Dr. Maria Ines Schmidt, of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and a multinational team examined whether or not raised levels of inflammatory markers were predictive of the development of diabetes in a large cohort followed over 7 years.
After controlling for obesity, patients in the highest quartiles for white-cell count, orosomucoid and sialic acid at baseline were significantly more likely than others to develop diabetes during the study, with odds ratios of 1.5, 7.1 and 2.8, respectively.
The findings might support a link between markers of inflammation and adult-onset diabetes, Dr. Schmidt and colleagues say in the May 15th issue of The Lancet."Although autoimmunity may partially explain these associations, we believe that, taken globally, they probably reflect the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes," investigators speculate.
Dr. Schmidt and her colleagues conceive that better understanding of the link between inflammation and diabetes "...may lead to improve understanding of its causes and open new approaches to prevention."
Lancet 1999;353:1649-1652