Individuals with high genetic risk, meaning those with many cases of type 2 diabetes among parents and siblings, appear to be less likely to develop diabetes by drinking fruit juice in moderation.
A research team led by Assistant Professor Tomoki Kawahara and Professor Takeo Fujiwara from the Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences at the Institute of Science Tokyo analyzed data from 13,769 people registered in the large-scale J-MICC study, which involves 13 universities and hospitals nationwide, to examine the association between fruit juice consumption frequency and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they compared how results differed based on high and low polygenic risk scores (PRS), which quantify an individual's genetic predisposition to diabetes.
Analysis results showed that among the top 20% of people genetically predisposed to diabetes, those who drank fruit juice less than once per week had approximately 20% lower diabetes rates compared with those who rarely drank fruit juice, while those who drank it once or more per week showed rates reduced by about half. In other words, a stepwise pattern was observed where people with higher genetic risk became less likely to develop diabetes by drinking juice in moderation. On the other hand, for people with low to moderate genetic risk, no clear association between juice consumption frequency and diabetes was confirmed.
These findings demonstrate the importance of individualized dietary guidance based on genetic background and are expected to contribute to the future development of precision medicine and precision nutrition. The preliminary version of the research was published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Provided by Science Tokyo
Journal Information
Publication: British Journal of Nutrition
Title: Inverse association between fruit juice consumption and type 2 diabetes among individuals with high genetic risk on type 2 diabetes: the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) study
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114525103863
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