Lifestyle Modifications on the Expression of TCF7L2 Gene Polymorphism: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is the result of the clustering of factors along with the communication between environmental factors and a strong hereditary component. In this modern age of investigation, molecular mechanisms of Transcription Factor 7 Like 2 (TCF7L2) linking with the physiological functioning in pancreatic and intestinal endocrine cells are explored. Hitherto few studies have been done in the Indian population with regard to gene polymorphism in TCF7L2 and T2DM concerning family history. Aim: To study effect of lifestyle modifications on the expression of TCF7L2 gene polymorphism in subjects with family history of diabetes. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted over a period of 14 months September 2020 to November 2021) with 121 subjects from Shimoga district at Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. The study was conducted after the approval by the Ethics Committee and subjects volunteering for the study have signed the informed consent. The study comprised of two groups. Both the groups had family history of T2DM, eventually persons who had not developed diabetes and had changed their lifestyle were grouped I (n=56) and subjects who had developed diabetes without any changes in their lifestyle were considered as group II (n=65). Fasting insulin, and fasting blood glucose was estimated along with the anthropometric variables like height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference. Two Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) (rs7903146 and rs1225372) of TCF7L2 gene was genotyped using Tetra-primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System (T-ARM) protocol. Differences in clinical parameters and genotypic variants between groups, was calculated using the independent t-test and Chi-square test, a p value of