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Magnesium intake, genes, ethnicity influence type 2 diabetes risk
The underlying physiologic connections linking magnesium to diabetes among populations of minority women suggest that more personalized health guidance is needed, according to findings published in The Journal of Nutrition.
“A magnesium-rich diet may provide beneficial effects on lowering one’s risk of developing diabetes,” Simin Liu, MD, ScD, of the Alpert Medical School at Brown University, told Endocrine Today. “However, there are likely significant individual differences to that clinical response in that the ultimate effect of a genetic mutation on a disease outcome may be important, as well and vice versa.”
Simin Liu
“It is the gene-diet interaction that plays a fundamentally important role in determining risk,” he said.
Liu, with Kei Hang Katie Chan, MPH, PhD, and colleagues found genetic variations in the magnesium-related ion channel genes and type 2 diabetes risk in Hispanic and black woman that appear to vary based on magnesium intake.
The investigators set out to understand the interactions in the populations of women by examining data from the Women’s Health Initiative.
The researchers analyzed magnesium intake, type 2 diabetes status and genes in 7,287 black women (1,949 with type 2 diabetes) and 3,285 Hispanic women (611 with type 2 diabetes) aged 50 to 79 years.
To account for genes known to regulate how the body handles magnesium, the investigators looked at 17 genes and specifically 583 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Single- and multiple-locus haplotype analyses were performed.
In one example, type 2 diabetes risk among Hispanic women with high magnesium intake who had the specific SNP rs8028189 on the NIPA2 gene was reduced by 35% compared with women overall.
In another example, black women had a 16% lower risk for each copy of the gene CNNM1 carried with the SNP rs6584273. The dependence on how much magnesium they consumed was unclear, according to researchers.
With a grant from the American Heart Association, under the Cardiovascular Genome-Phenome initiative, Liu and colleagues are further investigating the links among diet, genetics, ethnicity and the risks for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to the release. The researchers aim to enable personalized prevention, informed by interplay between lifestyle and biology.
“That’s the general framework of ‘4P’ medicine — predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory,” Liu said in a press release. “We are not ready for prime time yet, but that’s ultimately the goal.” – by Allegra Tiver
Disclosure: This research was supported by the NIH, NIDDK, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Institutional National Research Service, and funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Ryoichi Sasakawa Fellowship Fund and the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to researchers. The WHI program was funded by the NHLBI, US Department of Health and Human Services.
Perspective
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This article is hypothesis generating. It is a Women’s Health Initiative spin-off, and the beauty of the research is Liu and colleagues observed genetic associations between magnesium-related ion channel genes and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, which may have important implications for nutrition.
Magnesium is certainly important for our health; and it helps to regulate potassium, which is important in many cellular activities. The researchers highlight the importance of a having a magnesium-rich diet of whole grains, leafy green vegetables, legumes, beans and nuts, similar to a Mediterranean diet — and does not support going out and taking a magnesium supplement.
Some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in magnesium-related ion channel genes were found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in African American or Hispanic women who had a low-magnesium diet.
However, we don’t really know yet the full implications of these findings on health. Presently, we do not have a very good way to assess the body’s magnesium balance, other than measuring total serum and urine magnesium levels. Fortunately, the body does a really good job of conserving magnesium. To say these genetic alleles are related to the cause of disease is a big step. But, as the authors mentioned, stay tuned. It’s certain this article will stimulate further research important to patients with diabetes.