Strong association of socioeconomic status with genetic ancestry in Latinos: implications for admixture studies of type 2 diabetes

• Published in: Diabetologia Vol. 52; no. 8; pp. 1528 - 1536
• Main Authors: Florez, J. C, Price, A. L, Campbell, D, Riba, L, Parra, M. V, Yu, F, Duque, C, Saxena, R, Gallego, N, Tello-Ruiz, M, Franco, L, Rodríguez-Torres, M, Villegas, A, Bedoya, G, Aguilar-Salinas, C. A, Tusié-Luna, M. T, Ruiz-Linares, A, Reich, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.08.2009; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Colombia - epidemiology; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - economics; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - genetics; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Epidemiology; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Genetics; Genomes; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Human Physiology; Humans; Hypotheses; Internal Medicine; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Mexico - epidemiology; Minority & ethnic groups; Public health; Racial Groups - statistics & numerical data; Socioeconomic Factors; United States - epidemiology; White People; Colombia; United States; Mexico; South America; United States > US; Massachusetts; Type 2 diabetes; Genetic admixture; Socioeconomic status; Latinos; Genetic association; Endocrinopathy; Association; Metabolic diseases; Genetics
• ISSN: 0012-186X; 1432-0428
• DOI: 10.1007/s00125-009-1412-x

Aims/hypothesis Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent in US American minority populations of African or Native American descent than it is in European Americans. However, the proportion of this epidemiological difference that can be ascribed to genetic or environmental factors is unknown. To determine whether genetic ancestry is correlated with diabetes risk in Latinos, we estimated the proportion of European ancestry in case-control samples from Mexico and Colombia in whom socioeconomic status had been carefully ascertained. Methods We genotyped 67 ancestry-informative markers in 499 participants with type 2 diabetes and 197 controls from Medellín (Colombia), as well as in 163 participants with type 2 diabetes and 72 controls from central Mexico. Each participant was assigned a socioeconomic status scale via various measures. Results Although European ancestry was associated with lower diabetes risk in Mexicans (OR [95% CI] 0.06 [0.02-0.21], p = 2.0 x 10⁻⁵) and Colombians (OR 0.26 [0.08-0.78], p = 0.02), adjustment for socioeconomic status eliminated the association in the Colombian sample (OR 0.64 [0.19-2.12], p = 0.46) and significantly attenuated it in the Mexican sample (OR 0.17 [0.04-0.71], p = 0.02). Adjustment for BMI did not change the results. Conclusions/interpretation The proportion of non-European ancestry is associated with both type 2 diabetes and lower socioeconomic status in admixed Latino populations from North and South America. We conclude that ancestry-directed search for genetic markers associated with type 2 diabetes in Latinos may benefit from information involving social factors, as these factors have a quantitatively important effect on type 2 diabetes risk relative to ancestry effects.