Background: Globally, 1 in 11 adults has diabetes mellitus, and most of these cases are type 2 diabetes (T2D). The risk of T2D is influenced by many factors, including diet. The synthesis of long-chain n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-6 PUFA) has been posited as a risk factor for T2D; however, its causal role is uncertain.
Aim: To test the causal effect of LC n-6 PUFA synthesis on insulin resistance and transgenerational T2D risk in a large cohort of men and women.
Methods: Two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted to evaluate the effect of low or high levels of LC n-6 PUFA synthesis on glycemia and development of T2D in the UK Biobank (n = 463,010) and Meta-Analysis of Glucose- and Insulin-Related Traits Consortium (MAGIC; n = 5,130) cohorts. The increased likelihood of a predisposition to low or high LC n-6 PUFA synthesis and the risk of T2D was also investigated using the participants' siblings and parents. In MR-Base, 4 genetic variants associated with LC n-6 PUFA synthesis were found (p < 10-8). After pruning, 1 variant (rs174547) on the FADS1 gene was retained.
Results: Lower LC n-6 PUFA synthesis and abundance (per % unit decrease) are associated with small reductions in the insulin disposition index (-0.038 ± 0.012 mM-1; p = 0.002) within MAGIC. In the UK Biobank, we report negligible effects of low n-6 PUFA synthesis on the odds of T2D (OR <1%; p < 0.05). Additionally, reduced LC n-6 PUFA synthesis does not appear to be a contributor to familial T2D risk. No significant association was observed between LC n-6 PUFA synthesis and BMI.
Conclusion: In a primarily white European population, LC n-6 PUFA synthesis is not a major contributor to T2D risk.
Keywords: CHARGE; FADS; GIANT; Glycemia; MAGIC; Mendelian randomization; Omega; Polyunsaturated fatty acid; UK Biobank.
© 2020 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.