Type 2 diabetes is a growing global health problem. It’s a long-term condition that can lead to serious issues like heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and vision loss.
In Sweden alone, more than 500,000 people live with diabetes, and most of them—about 85 to 90 percent—have type 2 diabetes.
The number of young people being diagnosed is also rising, which makes it more important than ever to find new ways to prevent the disease.
Now, scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have discovered something exciting. In a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they identified around 100 different proteins in the blood that are linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Some of these proteins might even be used in the future to develop new drugs or personalized nutrition plans to help prevent the disease.
Our blood carries thousands of proteins, many of which reflect how healthy we are. In this study, researchers wanted to find out if certain proteins actually play a role in causing type 2 diabetes—not just showing up once the disease begins.
That’s important because proteins that are directly involved in the development of diabetes could become targets for new treatments or early prevention strategies.
Led by Professor Rikard Landberg, the research team studied about 270 proteins known to be involved in key body processes such as inflammation and insulin sensitivity—both of which are related to diabetes.
They used data from two large groups of people in Sweden. These participants gave blood samples and health information and were tracked over time using national health records.
Among about 9,200 people in the study, 486 developed type 2 diabetes over an average of 5.5 years. The researchers found 112 proteins that were linked to a higher risk of getting diabetes. What made the study especially strong was that these results were confirmed in both groups of participants—something that doesn’t happen often in this type of research.
But the study didn’t stop there. The researchers also looked at how people’s diets were connected to these proteins. They found that certain eating habits were linked to the proteins that showed a higher risk for diabetes.
Although the study didn’t prove that food causes changes in the proteins, it suggests that diet may influence them. This opens the door to future research that could explore how specific foods or diets—such as those high in whole grains or vegetables—might change the levels of these proteins and lower the risk of disease.
So, what does this mean? This research adds to the growing evidence that what we eat can affect our long-term health in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
It also shows that blood proteins might one day help doctors predict who is most at risk for type 2 diabetes—possibly even before symptoms start—and guide them toward better, more personalized prevention plans.
If you care about blood sugar, please read studies about why blood sugar is high in the morning, and how to cook sweet potatoes without increasing blood sugar.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about 9 unhealthy habits that damage your brain, and results showing this stuff in cannabis may protect aging brain, treat Alzheimer’s.
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