부산대학교 도서관

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a prominent risk factor for both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). MicroRNAs (miRs) are small noncoding RNA molecules that target messenger RNAs to alter gene expression. Circulating miRs have been studied as potential clinically meaningful biomarkers of risk for MetS as they are readily measured from blood. Though associations among MetS components and social constructs of race, ethnicity, and gender have previously been established, grouping according to these constructs alone may conflate genetic ancestry with the environmental/behavioral effects of being characterized as a particular gender, race, or ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in circulating miRs associated with demographic factors and MetS components to better illuminate the nuanced health impacts of race, ethnicity and gender. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a subset of participants (N=1000) from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). A custom Fireplex assay was used to quantify miRs from banked plasma collected at baseline. Correlations between miRs and metabolic syndrome components were assessed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Multivariable linear models adjusted for age and weight were used to analyze associations between gender, race, ethnicity, and miR expression. The Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) method was applied. Results: The sample was 68% female, 19% Black, 15% Hispanic, and mean age was 52 ± 10 years. After adjusting for multiple comparisons (FDR