Genetic association studies have reported the E23K variant of KCNJ11 gene to be associated with Type 2 diabetes.
Some studies have suggested that consumption of diet soft drinks may be associated with Type 2 diabetes and development of the condition known as metabolic syndrome — high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and other risk factors.
Common polymorphisms in mtDNA and nuclear genes regulating mitochondrial function might be associated with type 2 diabetes.
Elevated serum ferritin level has been reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, which have significant relation with insulin resistance (IR).
A new lipid class named 'fatty acid esters of hydroxyl fatty acids' (FAHFA) was recently discovered in mammalian adipose tissue and in blood plasma and some FAHFAs were found to be associated with type 2 diabetes.
These findings contributed to a recommendation by the American Society of Echocardiography and European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging to check serial troponin I during treatment with agents known to be associated with type I and II cardiotoxicity [20].
Plasma branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) levels, measured on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics research platforms or by mass spectrometry, have been shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Furthermore, common haplotypes in GLUT4 and RBP4 were also found to be associated with type 2 diabetes.
SNPs in RBP4 have been previously reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes in Mongolian population [11].
Notably, we could not replicate two other susceptibility SNPs in TCF7L2 (rs11196218 and rs290487), previously reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese studies [22], [23].
Recent studies in other populations have identified common variants and haplotypes in RBP4 to be associated with type 2 diabetes [11], [13].
