Yun H, Sun L, Wu Q, et al. - As it remains unclear whether β-cell dysfunction or insulin resistance plays a primary role in the pathogenesis of T2D, especially in Asian populations with relatively lower β-cell function, researchers sought to assess the correlations of circulating sphingolipids with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to explore underlying mechanisms. Participants in the study were 826 men and 1,148 women who were aged 50 to 70 years, from Beijing and Shanghai, and without T2D in 2005 and who were resurveyed in 2011. In total, 76 sphingolipids were quantified using high-coverage targeted lipidomics. Five hundred twenty-nine participants developed T2D during the 6-year period. The authors discovered that a panel of novel sphingolipids with unique structures were positively linked to incident T2D, largely mediated through β-cell dysfunction, in Chinese people. Potential undiagnosed cases and lack of an independent population for replication were the included main limitations in the current study.