Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside and Scotland

This GoDARTS-Scotland proposal aims to investigate biomarkers associated with diabetes progression, therapeutic response, diabetes complications and related traits, and specifically to investigate mechanisms of action and response to metformin. GoDARTS-Scotland will specifically target the patient group who have been diagnosed with diabetes in the previous 2 years and follow up will be by linkage to electronic health record data.

The study will, for the most part, involve a single study visit lasting approximately 20 minutes. Informed consent will be obtained before any study procedures are carried out.

In addition, those patients who are not on metformin will undergo more comprehensive sampling and a second visit, between four to six months, after initiation of metformin. As current guidelines suggest all patients who are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be treated with metformin the investigator will ask the patient and General Practitioner to consider initiation of metformin, although this is a clinical decision that will be made by the GP. Between four to six months after commencement of Metformin the patient will be asked to return to the clinic for a second visit where additional samples and measures will be taken.

The investigator plans to recruit patients aged 16 and upwards with a diagnosis of diabetes from several Scottish Health Boards.

The Resource will be hosted by the Tayside Biorepository which is part of the East of Scotland Tissue Bank. Access to samples and data will be managed by the Tayside Biorepository on behalf of the whole of Scotland. All initial requests for access will be made to the Tayside Biorepository Access Committee who will manage the process and send requests for access to data to the relevant access committees.