Integrative 1H-NMR-based Metabolomic Profiling to Identify Type-2 Diabetes Biomarkers: An Application to a Population of Qatar

Abstract

Diabetes is a leading health problem in the developed world. The recent surge of wealth in Qatar has made it one of the most vulnerable nations to diabetes and related diseases. Recent technological advances in 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques for metabolomics profiling offer a great opportunity for biomarkers discovery. Using this technology, we present in this study, an integrative approach to discover new metabolites and possibly new biomarkers. We performed an integrative analysis of 1H NMR spectras measured in urine, from 348 participants of the Qatar Metabolomics Study on Diabetes (QM- Diab). Our analyses revealed several metabolites that correlate with diabetes and identified specific metabolites affected by anti- diabetes medication, which constraints differentiation be- tween diabetic and control patients.