Criteria for selecting research papers
The research papers were meticulously selected based on the following criteria: First, the articles are peer-reviewed and all published within the past five years. This means the new research information can help in the ever-changing evidence-based decision to combat type 2 diabetes (Robinson et al., 2021). Also, the articles are relevant to type 2 diabetes; they are presented clearly and concisely so that they can easily be understood by their audience and offer clear information to feed the research topic.
Risk factors studied
Each study selected had a very well-expounded category of risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus. A study by Chatzi et al., 2020 expounded on the socioeconomic risk factors for type 2 diabetes. It employed a longitudinal research design to understand how socio-economic status impacts the development of type 2 diabetes. The study investigated factors like occupational status, income level, and educational levels and found them to be well associated with the development and safety of type 2 diabetes. The study by Zhang et al. (2020) aimed to offer an explanation of behavioral risk factors for type 2 diabetes study through a prospective cohort study. Behavioral risk factors are well associated with chronic illnesses. In the study, risk factors like smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption were found to be highly associated with type two diabetes development. The study, however, followed a cohort of participants over time to investigate the effects of poor health behaviors on the rate of development of type 2 diabetes. Sargazi et al. (2020) expounded on the relationship between genetic predisposition and type 2 diabetes through a case-control study. They conducted the study by comparing individuals with genetic profiles of type two diabetes to those without to denote potential genetic risk factors for type two diabetes.
Study design used
The study by Chatzi et al. (2020) used the cohort study research approach to demonstrate the connection of socioeconomic background with the development of diabetes over some time. By maintaining a cohort under longitudinal observation, researchers could measure through which degrees socioeconomic changes are associated with diabetes risk. As an illustration, those who were in lower socioeconomic categories by income level and educational attainment could face a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in contrast with the top SES group. The longitudinal studies have proven to possess some benefits for probing the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and the risk of diabetes. They provide for time course and arrangement analyses of exposures and outcomes. You may clarify the likely causal pathways and mechanisms behind observed associations more explicitly. Moreover, through longitudinal studies, the contribution of critical cumulative effects of socio-economic factors to the risk of diabetes can be investigated by using both the baseline measures and the variations of the measures of SES. Undoubtedly, the long-term observation of social cognition and diabetes risk creation mechanism helps understand how these two factors are associated over time and, as may be, improves efforts to devise programs that meet health disparities.
Zhang et al. (2020) used a prospective cohort trial to explore the role of behavioral risk factors in the onset of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. By acquiring baseline data on the subjects’ behaviors, researchers could identify the relationships between the three things, such as unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and future type 2 diabetes mellitus. Keeping in mind an example is how participants who ate a high-calorie diet and did almost no activity were more exposed to developing diabetes compared to the rest. This prospective cohort study was looking for the connection between lifestyle risk and type 2 diabetes incidence. A prospective cohort design is employed in which participants who do not possess the disease of interest (i.e., type 2 diabetes mellitus) are monitored over time to establish if the disease occurs and is associated with different risk factors. This study tested a cohort of people free of type 2 diabetes mellitus at the beginning of the research and investigated how their lifestyle influenced their risk of developing T2DM. The study population would have been surveyed concerning diabetes behavioral risk factors, including diet/physical activity, smoking status/alcohol consumption, and other relevant lifestyle behaviors. The measured figures on existing hazards may have been identified with the help of questionnaires, interviews, or other data-gathering methods.
A study by Sargazi et al. (2020) involved a case-control study design that has been used to determine the importance of gene polymorphisms in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conducting a genetic profile analysis of diabetes patients and people without diabetes revealed certain specific genetic variants linked with heightened susceptibility to this pathology. For instance, the study reported that the mutations of insulin receptors and increased beta-cell disorder were observed in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients at a greater frequency than in healthy populations. Case-control studies are beneficial for identifying rare outcomes or diseases, namely type 2 diabetes, which has a long latency period, because prospective cohort studies may not work for those situations, which is less likely, and also, it may take a longer time. More so, case-control genetic studies are the best places for obtaining genetic data from large groups, including cases and controls, helping the researchers locate the alleles/genes linked to the particular condition. In general, the choice of the case-control study design proves to be beneficial for revealing the essential genes as a factor that plays a significant role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and for prevention and disease management.
Underlying determinants for risk factors
A study by Chatziet al. (2020) pinpointed the economic and educational factors of income level as prime socioeconomic factors affecting the risk of diabetes. The foundation factors of such issues may consist of poor health-seeking behavior, unhealthy living conditions, and poor health literacy, causing a rise in diabetes prevalence rate in the lowest socio-economic groups. The study by Zhang et al. (2020) emphasized the proximate determinants of disease development, which ranged from daily activity, diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The fundamental factors could include societal norms, cultural pressures, and individual beliefs and attitudes towards health-related behaviors such as diet and lifestyle, which affect people’s lifestyle choices and predispose them to diabetes. Studies by Sargazi et al. (2020) focused on certain gene mutations that showed proximal determinants of genetic strengths toward insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction. The genetic constitution may identify higher risks; the environment influences epigenetic modifications and becomes observed as alterations in cell gene expression, eventually manifesting this disease. Such research and epidemiological papers support us in better understanding the multifactorial nature of type 2 diabetes mellitus. It reveals how vital the systematic handling of social, behavioral, and genetic risk factors is for disease prevention and management.
References
Chatzi, G., Mason, T., Chandola, T., Whittaker, W., Howarth, E., Cotterill, S., … & Bower, P. (2020). Sociodemographic disparities in non‐diabetic hyperglycaemia and the transition to type 2 diabetes: evidence from the English longitudinal study of ageing. Diabetic Medicine, 37(9), 1536-1544.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dme.14343
Robinson, K. A., Brunnhuber, K., Ciliska, D., Juhl, C. B., Christensen, R., & Lund, H. (2021). Evidence-based research series-paper 1: what evidence-based research is and why is it important?. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 129, 151-157.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895435620310957
Sargazi, S., Nia, M. H., Saravani, R., Shahroudi, M. J., Jahantigh, D., & Shakiba, M. (2020). IGF2BP2 polymorphisms as genetic biomarkers for either schizophrenia or type 2 diabetes mellitus: a case-control study. Gene Reports, 20, 100680.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452014420300947
Zhang, Y., Pan, X. F., Chen, J., Xia, L., Cao, A., Zhang, Y., … & Pan, A. (2020). Combined lifestyle factors and risk of incident type 2 diabetes and prognosis among individuals with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetologia, 63(1), 21-33.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-019-04985-9?sf220478963=1&error=cookies_not_supported&code=e0068494-3fd7-4d6f-b0be-e22e67b4c8fd