Study: DNA Changes Determine Heart Risk for Diabetics

 DNA Changes Determine Heart Risk                   

Study: DNA changes determine heart disease risk in diabetics

New findings from a Swedish study may help doctors identify people at low risk for cardiovascular disease versus those at higher risk. The study included people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.In general, people with type 2 diabetes are up to four times more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or other severe cardiovascular disease than those without diabetes.

The 752 volunteers in the new study were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. None had a history of heart disease. During a follow-up period of nearly seven years, 102 of them experienced serious cardiovascular complications. By analyzing blood samples taken from study participants at regular intervals, researchers were able to track chemical changes in their DNA over time.

These changes, called DNA methylation, "control which genes are active and which are inactive in our cells, and when they don't function properly, they can contribute to cardiovascular disease," said Charlotte Ling of Lund University, who led the study, in a statement. The researchers found more than 400 DNA methylation sites that indicated changes. They were able to use 87 of these sites to develop a score that assesses the risk or likelihood of developing serious cardiovascular complications.

The researchers reported in the journal Cell Reports Medicine that the score's negative prediction accuracy, or its ability to identify patients at low risk of cardiovascular disease, was 96 percent. However, the score was only about 32 percent accurate in identifying patients at high risk, possibly because the study did not follow them for a sufficient period of time.

But the researchers said their test appears to be "one of the most reliable predictors" for distinguishing type 2 diabetes patients at low risk for heart disease from those at potentially high risk, "allowing for personalized treatment, reducing healthcare costs, and reducing patient anxiety and treatment-related side effects."

Ling said that healthcare providers currently consider variables such as age, gender, blood pressure, smoking, LDL cholesterol, long-term blood sugar, and kidney function to estimate future heart disease risk, "but it's a rather inaccurate tool." She continued, "If you add DNA methylation, you have a much better indicator of future risk."