Volume 30, Issue 167, January 2026

Evaluation of Novel Biomarkers in Early Detection of Type 2 Diabetes: Review of the literature

Karolina Górowska^1♦, Natalia Cegielska², Patrycja Anita Kobrzyńska³, Aleksandra Korżel⁴, Jędrzej Mogilany⁵, Julia Niedźwiecka⁶, Barbara Katarzyna Przybył⁷, Ewelina Wojna⁸, Kamil Źródłowski⁹, Gabriela Ragan¹⁰

¹Medical University of Lodz: Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, PL
²Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
³University Clinical Hospital No. 2 of the Medical University of Lodz: Łódź, ul. Stefana Żeromskiego 113, 90-549 Łódź, PL, Łódź, PL
⁴Medical University of Lodz: Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, PL
⁵Medical University of Lodz: Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, PL
⁶Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
⁷Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
⁸Medical University of Lodz: Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, PL
⁹Medical University of Lodz: Lodz, Łódź Voivodeship, PL
¹⁰Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Karolina Górowska, Czechosłowacka 36/14, 92-232 Łódź, Poland

ABSTRACT

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a tremendous global health challenge, caused mainly by a sedentary lifestyle and constantly rising obesity rates. Early recognition of individuals at risk is significant to prevent complications. Advances in biochemical and molecular biomarkers now provide opportunities to detect subtle metabolic changes before diabetes becomes clinically evident. Eligible articles that we found for this review comprised original and review papers describing novel circulating, metabolic, genetic, or protein biomarkers with potential for early diagnosis of T2DM or prediabetes. Evidence from recent studies identifies various biomarkers, including metabolic, protein, and nucleic-acid biomarkers such as circulating metabolites, adipokines, microRNAs, circular RNAs, and others, as potential early indicators of T2DM. All of them show promise for early recognition of insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction, so future research should focus on validating and translating these biomarkers into clinical practice. One of the most significant limitations is that many biomarkers still lack clinical standardization and external validation, which delays their adoption in diagnostic practice.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, biomarkers, early detection, metabolomics, microRNA.

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e5ms3796

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Published: 12 January 2026