Review Article

The Complex Interplay of Genetic and Lifestyle Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes: An Overview

Figure 1

Three different types of interaction effects for a dichotomous outcome, such as diabetes. (a) shows a “removable interaction.” In this scenario, the genotype exerts an effect in people who are exposed as well as in those who are not exposed to the environmental risk factor, but larger genetic effect in one environmental exposure group than in the other. (b) shows a “nonremovable, pure interaction,” which is characterized by the presence of a genetic effect only in one of the two environmental exposure groups. (c) shows a “cross-over” interaction, where a genotype conveys risk of disease in people who are exposed to the environmental risk factor, but is protective of disease in persons who are unexposed to the same environmental factor.
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(a)
482186.fig.001b
(b)
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(c)