Genetic basis of type 2 diabetes--recommendations based on meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Despite intensive effort to understand the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes, only a few genes responsible for relatively rare monogenic and syndromic subsets of diabetes are known; however, gene(s) responsible for genetic predispositions to common type 2 diabetes are unknown. The current study was obtained a better understanding of the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Comprehensive literature search was performed and the extracted data was analyzed. The proportion of variance explained by validated genetic factors for a range of metabolic quantitative traits was analyzed. RESULTS: A fully elucidated landscape of type 2 diabetes genetics may well depict perhaps a hundred or more common variants individually with low impact on disease. CONCLUSIONS: Every individual harbors a combination of different risk alleles and only special compilations of these variants in combination with other genetic and non-genetic components will likely lead to disease.