Theragen Bio has identified new predictors of diabetes risks through joint research with Professor Jeong Dong-hyeok of the Department of Family Medicine at Yongin Severance Hospital.
Blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin may be new predictors of diabetes risk, the company said.
The joint research team reached the conclusion based on a study of cohort data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Survey (KoGES) conducted by the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
Theragen Bio and Professor Jeong divided 5,904 Koreans in their 40s and 60s into three groups based on the albumin level to CRP level ratio (CAR) -- less than 0.2, 0.2 to 0.44, and 0.44 or more -- and followed up for an average of seven-and-a-half years.
A separate analysis of 701 people diagnosed with diabetes showed that the risk of developing diabetes was 1.6 times higher in the group with a relatively high CAR, even if the blood sugar level was normal.
Notably, CAR showed a similar level of accuracy compared to the current diabetes-predicting method -- insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) -- despite its simpler analysis procedure and lower cost.
Based on the results of this study, the team expects that hospitals will be able to use CRP level, mainly used for diagnosis and follow-up of cardiovascular disease, in predicting the risk of diabetes.
The team recommended people with high CAR who have normal blood sugar levels do exercise, follow a diet plan, and change their lifestyles, such as smoking cessation and medication, to prevent diabetes.
The research team also found that the risk of diabetes may increase depending on the genetic markers related to iron metabolism and iron intake.
The team noted that high iron intake could lead to diabetes.
As a result of observing 6,413 Koreans in the same cohort for eight years, the researchers found that those who ate lots of red meat or ham while having mutations in the genes, such as human fetal telencephalon (HFT) and human hemochromatosis protein (HFE), had 1.4 times higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The research team said that using this indicator together with the HOMA-IR increases the diabetes diagnosis accuracy (AUC) by 5 percentage points, from 73 percent to 78 percent.
“If hospitals use this study in making a diagnosis, it will contribute to the prevention of diabetes by improving the accuracy and adjusting the diet of the person carrying the genetic mutation,” the researchers said.
The study results were published in two journals, Acta Diabetologica and the European Journal of Nutrition.