Epigenetics of diabetes Type 2 Since Type 2 diabetes is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia as a result of impaired pancreatic beta cell function and insulin resistance in peripheral tissues, it was thought that the gene might be downregulated in type 2 diabetes patients through DNA methylation. The defects in pancreatic beta cell function and insulin resistance in peripheral tissues were thought to be the result of impaired ATP production from reduced oxidative phosphorylation. It was found that the mRNA expression of PPARGC1A was markedly reduced in pancreatic islets from type 2 diabetic donors compared with that of non-diabetic donors. Using bisulfite testing, it was also
Lifestyle causes of diabetes mellitus type 2 and 2000s is believed to have led to the increase in type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Studies have shown that a reduction in sleep is associated with a significant increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes. This could account for the increased incidence of diabetes in developed countries in the last decades, since "the causes of this pandemic are not fully explained by changes in traditional lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity", and "one behavior that seems to have developed during the past few decades and has become highly prevalent, particularly amongst Americans, is sleep