Impact of Family History of Diabetes on Diabetes Control and Complications

Objective: Our aim was to assess the impact of parental and sibling history of type 2 diabetes (T2D) on patient characteristics, glycemic control, and T2D complications.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adults with T2D. Type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes patients were excluded. The laboratory data were retrieved from the patients' electronic files, and baseline measurements were obtained by the researchers.

Results: The study included a total of 511 T2D patients, with a mean age of 60.1 ± 10.9 years and mean hemoglobin A1c of 8.94 ± 2.1% (74.2 ± 22.9 mmol/mol). Of these patients, 54% were male and 49.7% had a parental history of T2D. The patients with parental history of T2D were diagnosed at a younger age and had a higher body mass index (BMI) ( P = .035) and higher waist circumference (WC) ( P = .013) than those T2D patients with no parental history. Approximately 60% of the participants had siblings with a history of T2D, and in comparison with those with no sibling history, they had higher prevalence of cerebrovascular accidents ( P = .02).

Conclusion: Having a parental history of T2D is significantly associated with diagnosis at a younger age and a higher BMI and WC. Having a sibling history of T2D is significantly associated with worse cerebrovascular outcome.

Abbreviations: ACR = albumin to creatinine ratio; BMI = body mass index; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; DM = diabetes mellitus; FBG = fasting blood glucose; GFR = glomerular filtration rate; HbA1c = hemoglobin A1c; LDL = low-density lipoprotein; SBP = systolic blood pressure; T2D = type 2 diabetes; TG = triglyceride; WC = waist circumference.