Several gene variants have been associated with an increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. Variants within the TCF7L2 (transcription factor 7-like 2) gene show some of the largest effects to date. It is likely that additional gene variants for susceptibility to diabetes will be discovered.
Bottom line
Currently, genetic testing for type 2 diabetes susceptibility is not clinically available in Canada. Furthermore, it is not clear whether such test results would provide health benefits for patients with or without type 2 diabetes. In contrast, it is important to recognize rare, monogenic forms of diabetes, such as maturity-onset diabetes of the young; for those, genetic testing is clinically available and results can influence treatment and prognosis.
The complete Gene Messenger—Type 2 Diabetes by the GenetiKit research team is available on CFPlus.* Past Gene Messenger articles can be accessed on-line at www.cfp.ca. On the home page, click on Collections in the left-hand menu, then click on Genetics.
Acknowledgment
Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Footnotes
Competing interests
None declared
The GenetiKit research team, a group of family physicians, genetic counselors and geneticists, designed the Gene Messenger series to provide practical information to help family physicians and their patients make informed choices about rapidly emerging genetic discoveries. The series is a collection of up-to-date, definitive, short reviews on genetics topics that have made headlines, and offers recommendations regarding referral for genetic services or testing.
↵* The Gene Messenger on type 2 diabetes is available at www.cfp.ca. Go to the full text of this article on-line, then click on CFPlus in the menu at the top right-hand side of the page.
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