Environmental stress plays an important role in the development of glucose intolerance influencing lipid and glucose metabolism through sympathetic nervous system, cytokines and hormones such as glucocorticoids, catecholamines and glucagon. Otherwise, fish oil prevents glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has found that levels of five amino acids not only indicated increased type II diabetes risk in a general population, but could also differentiate, among individuals with traditional risk factors such as obesity, those most likely to actually develop diabetes.