Harnessing Qatar Biobank to understand type 2 diabetes and obesity in adult Qataris from the First Qatar Biobank Project

BACKGROUND: Human tissues are invaluable resources for researchers worldwide. Biobanks are repositories of such human tissues and can have a strategic importance for genetic research, clinical care, and future discoveries and treatments. One of the aims of Qatar Biobank is to improve the understanding and treatment of common diseases afflicting Qatari population such as obesity and diabetes. METHODS: In this study we apply a panorama of state-of-the-art statistical methods and machine learning algorithms to investigate associations and risk factors for diabetes and obesity on a sample of 1000 Qatari population. RESULTS: Regarding diabetes, we identified pronounced associations and risk factors in Qatari population including magnesium, chloride, c-peptide of insulin, insulin, and uric acid. Similarly, for obesity, significant associations and risk factors include insulin, c-peptide of insulin, albumin, and uric acid. Moreover, our study has revealed interactions of hypomagnesemia with HDL-C, triglycerides, and free thyroxine. CONCLUSIONS: Our study strongly confirms known associations and risk factors associated with diabetes and obesity in Qatari population as previously found in other population studies in different parts of the world. Moreover, interactions of hypomagnesemia with other associations and risk factors merit further investigations. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1472-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.