Integrating Polygenic Scores and Family History for Type 2 Diabetes Prediction in an East Asian Population

Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Although polygenic risk scores (PRS) and family history (FH) are established predictors, their combined utility in East Asian populations remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed 111,899 unrelated participants from the Taiwan Biobank with linkage to nationwide health registry data. We constructed transancestry, East Asian–specific, and European-derived PRS and assessed their associations with type 2 diabetes. The transancestry PRS improved the explained variance in disease risk compared with ancestry-specific PRS and FH. FH, particularly sibling history, also showed a strong association with type 2 diabetes. When combined, PRS and FH contributed independently and additively, improving predictive performance. These findings demonstrate that PRS and FH are independent yet complementary risk indicators and support the application of transancestry PRS models in East Asian populations. Incorporating both genetic and familial risk factors may enhance early detection and facilitate more personalized prevention strategies for type 2 diabetes.