Identifying clinical biomarkers for unfavorable fat distribution among rural population - TREND Study

We aim to understand how the location of fat stored in the body affects people’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes at an early age. Body Mass Index is widely used as a predictor of type 2 diabetes, but it does not tell the whole story. People of Asian Indian ancestry develop type 2 diabetes much younger than people of European ancestry, and they often do so with a healthy BMI. This may be because people of Asian Indian ancestry tend to store fat around their organs rather than under the skin known as unfavorable fat distribution. Therefore, a person may have a healthy BMI, but fat stored around organs such as their liver could still be putting strain on the body and leading to earlier onset of metabolic diseases. Therefore, we are undertaking this project to identify better biomarkers of fat distribution that could be detected in routine blood tests. Furthermore, we hope to identify genetic signatures (polygenic risk scores) for such fat distribution patterns that can help us identify people at risk long before they develop metabolic diseases, and develop more targeted interventions to improve fat distribution patterns. It is also possible that the genetic discoveries will help lead us toward the possibility of develop therapeutics. This, for this study stored blood samples of 4732 adult participants of either sex aged 18 and above years and already have genotype data  who were recruited in a cross-sectional door to door population-based TREND survey called the Telemedicine PRoject for screENing Diabetes and its complications in rural Tamil Nadu  conducted between 2018 and 2021 will be analyzed for serum adiponectin, leptin and insulin levels. The study covered 30 selected villages in Cheyur taluk, situated in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India.