Type 2 diabetes has been loosely de

Type 2 diabetes has been loosely defined as "adult onset" diabetes, although as diabetes becomes more common throughout the world, cases of type 2 diabetes are being observed in younger people. It is increasingly common in children.

In determining the risk of developing diabetes, environmental factors such as food intake and exercise play an important role. The majority of individuals with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese. Inherited factors are also important, but the genes involved remain poorly defined.

In rare forms of diabetes, mutations of one gene can result in disease. However, in type 2 diabetes, many genes are thought to be involved. "Diabetes genes" may show only a subtle variation in the gene sequence, and these variations may be extremely common. The difficulty lies in linking such common gene variations, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), with an increased risk of developing diabetes.

One method of finding the diabetes susceptibility genes is by whole-genome linkage studies. The entire genome of affected family members is scanned, and the families are followed over several generations and/or large numbers of affected sibling-pairs are studied. Associations between parts of the genome and the risk of developing diabetes are looked for. To date only two genes, calpain 10 (CAPN10) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A), have been identified by this method.