Nutrigenomics and epigenetics in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevention – literature review

Abstract

Introduction and Objective. Type 2 diabetes mellitus affects more than 500 million adults worldwide and continues to increase. Diet shapes molecular pathways regulating insulin sensitivity, inflammation and glucose metabolism. Nutrigenomics studies nutrient-gene interactions, while epigenetics focuses on reversible mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs. This review synthesises evidence from 2017–2025 on how these processes support T2DM prevention. Review Methods. A targeted narrative search of PubMed and PubMed Central was conducted to identify recent human evidence published between 2017–2025 on nutrigenomics, epigenetics, diet and T2DM prevention. Peer-reviewed clinical, cohort, mechanistic and review studies were prioritised and synthesised thematically. Brief description of