The pattern of variation of the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) suggests that the disorder originates from an interaction between genetic and lifestyle behaviour factors. The InterAct consortium will use observational and trial data to investigate these interactions and explore the implications of these discoveries for preventive action. The observational part of the project is built around a large case-control study nested within an existing multi-national cohort - the EPIC study. The cohort for this project is large, comprising 350,000 participants from 8 European countries. Standardised dietary and physical activity information is available at baseline, and there is an available DNA source and plasma for nutritional biomarkers. Follow up has been completed for an average of 8 years. The collaborators have tested the feasibility and validity of an approach to ascertaining and verifying incident cases of T2D and will amass a case set of 10,000 individuals. A control cohort free of diabetes at baseline and during follow-up is readily available. To ensure efficient and high quality data, DNA extraction and genotyping will be undertaken using centralised high throughput methods. InterAct will undertake a programme of research aimed at describing the association of dietary and nutritional factors with type 2 diabetes, and will describe the association of physical activity with future risk and the ways that these factors interact with obesity. The genetic elements of InterAct will be focused on genes for which there is biological plausibility for interaction. The choice of polymorphisms in candidate genes will be undertaken by a group leading efforts to discover diabetes genes through a variety of approaches including whole genome association studies and through connection to on-going work on nutrigenomics including the NUGO network. We will genotype all 20,000 individuals for genetic variants in 200 key genes and will analyse the data for gene-lifestyle interaction.
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