Approved research

Reproductive and dietary risk factors of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Lay summary

With this research we aim to establish whether a selection of reproductive and dietary factors is causally related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Reproductive (such as age at menarche [first menstrual period], age at menopause [last menstrual period], and polycystic ovarian syndrome) and dietary factors (such as dairy products, fatty acids and vitamin K) have been identified as potential risk/protective factors for T2D and CVD. However, it is largely unknown whether these are causal risk factors. This research aims at prevention of T2D and CVD. We will establish causality of reproductive and dietary risk factors for those diseases. Identification of such causal risk factors is of importance to find or optimize targets for prevention of T2D and CVD. Only when these risk factors are causal, interventions on these risk factors will help to prevent those diseases. We will establish the causal roles of the selected reproductive and dietary factors in T2D and CVD by using a Mendelian randomization approach. This means that we will compare participants who have genetically determined favorable profiles of these risk factors to those who have genetically determined unfavorable profiles. We will check whether there are differences in the occurrence of T2D and CVD between those groups. For these analyses, we intend to include the full cohort, or more specifically, all participants who have genetic data available.