Recent work by Mardinoglu and several collaborators in the EMIF project identified strong associations between plasma mannose levels and an elevated risk for Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and diabetic kidney disease. These results build upon earlier work by these authors, in which they showed that obesity is associated with a dysregulated mannose metabolism, and that mannose levels could identify individuals with increased insulin resistance independent of BMI (Link).
In the current study, they identified mannose as a biomarker of metabolic disease and associated complications. By following patients for up to 8 years, they could show that mannose levels correlate to the progression of the disease. The current work warrants an in-depth investigation of the possible causal contribution of mannose to metabolic disease, its pathophysiological mechanisms and complications.
The research leading to these findings was supported by the European Medical Information Framework (EMIF) project, and was performed using the clinical databases available in EMIF.
The published article can be found here.