The effect of diabetes and the common diabetogenic TBC1D4 p.Arg684Ter variant on cardiovascular risk in Inuit in Greenland

Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 16;10(1):22081. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79132-1.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a well-known complication of diabetes, but the association has not been studied among Inuit in Greenland. The aim was to examine the association between diabetes and incident CVD among Inuit in Greenland and determine if the common diabetogenic TBC1D4 variant confers increased risk of CVD. We followed an initial study population of 4127 adults in Greenland who had participated in at least one population-based health survey, in national registers. We used Poisson regression to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRR) of cardiovascular endpoints, comparing participants with and without diabetes and comparing homozygous TBC1D4 carriers with heterozygous carriers and non-carriers combined. Close to 10% had diabetes and age range was 18-96 years (45% male). Of the 3924 participants without prior CVD, 362 (~ 9%) had CVD events during a median follow-up of 10 years. Multivariate IRR for the effect of diabetes on CVD was 1.12 (95% CI: 0.80, 1.57) p = 0.50. Using a recessive genetic model, we compared homozygous TBC1D4 carriers with wildtype and heterozygous carriers combined, with a multivariate IRR of 1.20 (95% CI: 0.69, 2.11) p = 0.52. Neither diabetes nor the TBC1D4 variant significantly increased CVD risk among Inuit in Greenland in adjusted models.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / genetics*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / pathology
  • Diabetes Complications / epidemiology
  • Diabetes Complications / genetics*
  • Diabetes Complications / pathology
  • Diabetes Mellitus / epidemiology
  • Diabetes Mellitus / genetics*
  • Diabetes Mellitus / pathology
  • Female
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins / genetics*
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Greenland
  • Heart Disease Risk Factors
  • Humans
  • Inuit / genetics
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • GTPase-Activating Proteins
  • TBC1D4 protein, human