Scientists discovered a genetic susceptibility that increases ten times more the risk to developing type II diabetes.
The genetic mutation, found in the population of Greenland, offers clues about the different causes of this disease, according to the study published in Nature magazine.
Danish researchers consider that their work contributes to the evidence that there is about the role that genetics plays in the development of diabetes.
Other lifestyle factors, such as obesity and an unhealthy diet, also increase risks.
There are several susceptible genes that have been discovered are related to diabetes, which means that if an individual is the bearer of one of these genes, it has great possibilities of having diabetes.
However, Danish experts say that the new mutation is present in almost one in five Greenlandes.
A phenomenon that according to Professor Torben Hansen, from the University of Copenhagen, was not found in other European, Chinese or African -American populations.This suggests that type II diabetes have multiple causes.
Hansen told the BBC that the variation of the gene increases up to ten times the risk of diabetes."We have identified a new type of type two diabetes gene with a large increase in risk due to insulin resistance in the muscle."
"Type II diabetes is not just a disease, they are several," he added.
balanced diet
For his part, Richard Elliott, head of Diabetes UK research communication, considers that in the long term, this type of research can help offer new ways to prevent and treat the disease.
"Until we know more, maintain a healthy weight and carry a balanced diet - so exercises - is the best way to prevent type II diabetes," he added.
Historically, Greenlandes are a small and isolated population.
But the island has gone through a rapid transformation that led it from a society of hunters and fishermen to one with a modern lifestyle and an increase in the rate of western diseases.
There was a time when type II diabetes was very rare on the island, but cases of patients with this disease have increased dramatically in the last 50 years.
blood sugar
The population of Greenland is 57,000.
For the study, Professor Hansen and his colleagues analyzed the genetic ties of 2,575 patients with type II diabetes living in Greenland.
They discovered that the mutation in a gene called TBC1D4, present in 17% of the population studied, increased the risk of developing the disease.
The effects are much greater than those found so far.
Unlike any other discovered mutation so far, it causes problems with the regulation of blood sugar levels after eating.