A U-Shaped Association Between Blood mtDNA Copy Number and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Authors' conclusion
Blood mtDNA-CN showed a U-shaped association with incident type 2 diabetes in younger individuals.
Study context
- Population
- Adults without diabetes from the KARE cohort and the UK Biobank2 cohorts · KARE cohort 34,835 · UK Biobank 289,338
- Participants
- 34,835 vs 289,338
- Exposure
- mtDNA-CN quartiles
- KAREn = 34,835
- UK Biobank (UKB)n = 289,338
- Outcome
- Incident T2D
Methodological detailstwo cohorts (KARE and UK Biobank), Cox proportional hazards and restricted cubic spline models, age-stratified
- Two cohorts (KARE and UK Biobank)
- Cox proportional hazards and restricted cubic spline models
- Age-stratified
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident T2D by blood mtDNA-CN quartile, KARE cohort
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
Q2vs Q1
0.94(0.88–1.00)
Q3vs Q1
0.85(0.79–0.91)
Q4vs Q1
0.93(0.87–1.00)
- U-shaped association in the KARE cohort
- P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Age-stratified association
- U-shaped association particularly evident in younger participants (<65 years in KARE, <50 years in UKB), with elevated T2D risk at both low and high mtDNA-CN
mtDNA-CN and age
- mtDNA-CN declined with age in both cohorts, accelerated beyond ∼65 years in KARE and ∼50 years in UKB
Original publication
A U-Shaped Association Between Blood mtDNA Copy Number and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. Published 16 March 2026. doi:10.
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