Allen Crow J, et al. - The association of serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity and concentration with the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) was examined in this case-control study. When adjusted for many of the common risk markers for T2D previously identified, lower PON1 activity and concentration were associated with an increased risk of developing T2D. PON1, therefore, could have merit as a biomarker for the development of T2D.

Methods

• The physicians analyzed serum samples and clinical data collected and stored at different time points over a 20 year interval in the Air Force Health Study.
• They compared PON1 activity and concentration and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration in samples from the same individuals 20 years apart using a paired t test (n=159).
• The association of PON1's activity and concentration with the subsequent development of T2D (n=222 and α=0.10) was evaluated through a case-control study design and multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Results

• The physicians found no difference with age in PON1 activity evaluated using 3 substrates, paraoxon (p=0.897), phenyl acetate (p=0.994), and dihydrocoumarin (p=0.505), or PON1 serum concentration (p=0.357). CRP concentration increased 0.7 mg/l (p=0.004) over the 20 year interval.
• Lower PON1 activity assayed with phenyl acetate (p=0.015, OR=1.25 per 1000U/l decrease) was correlated with an increased risk of developing T2D as was a lower PON1 serum concentration (p=0.004, OR=1.72 per 2 μmol/l decrease).
• In this study, there was no correlation between PON1 activity assayed with paraoxon (p=0.681) or dihydrocoumarin (p=0.136) with the development of T2D.