Iran Diabetes Research Roadmap (IDRR) Study; Knowledge Gap in Genetic Research on Diabetes Mellitus in Iran: A Review Article

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common metabolic disorder worldwide. This study aimed to report characteristics of genetic studies in DM in Iran and to identify knowledge gap in genetics of diabetes in Iran. Methods: All publications of Iranian authors in national and international journals up to 2015 were included. Comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SID, IranMedex and Magiran using "Diabetes mellitus" and "Iran*" keywords and their combination. This search obtained 25589 documents. The obtained documents were categorized into eleven groups of complications, comorbidity, management, psychology, nutrition, physical activity, genetics, basic sciences, prevention, education and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Documents were categorized based on publication year, WHO and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) classification, study design and subject area. Results: After screening, 293 documents remained. The trend of publications was increasing and reached peak in 2013. Case-control was the most common method used in the documents. Most of the studies were association study with case-control design while there was no genome-wide association study (GWAS). Genetic risk factors for DM and its complications were the most common topics in the obtained documents followed by DM management. Conclusion: The most of genetic studies in diabetes in Iran are association studies about genetic risk factors of diabetes while GWAS and pharmacogenetic studies are rare or absent. This may indicate low priority of personalized medicine in the field of diabetes in Iran.