The genetic variant of lactase persistence C(-13910)T as a risk factor for type I and II diabetes in the Finnish population

Objective: Lactase persistence (LP), the ability to maintain a high lactase activity throughout life, has been suggested to be a possible risk factor for diabetes. Recently, a single nucleotide polymorphism C (-13910) T, residing 14 kb from the 5' end of the lactase (LCT) gene was shown to be associated with LP. Here we have studied the relationship between C (13910) T polymorphism and diabetes in the Finnish population. Patients and design: In all, 1455 patients with type I and 615 with type II diabetes and 446 nondiabetic controls in the Finnish population were genotyped for the C (-13910) T polymorphism by PCR minisequencing. Results: No differences were detected in the LP genotype frequencies (CT&TT) between diabetic and nondiabetic subjects. Conclusions: We conclude that the C (-13910) T polymorphism associated with lifelong LP is not a risk factor for type I or type II diabetes in the Finnish population.