Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of blood glucose due to insufficient insulin production or some degree of insulin resistance that can contribute to physical, psychological and clinical complications.1It is estimated that ∼ 9.3% of the world population of adults aged between 20 and 79 years live with this condition.1Brazil is the South-American country with the highest prevalence of this disease, with 16.8 million adults affected, and the prevalence is higher among women (10.4% of the population) than among men (8.4% of the population).1 This evidence concerns the gene INS and diabetes mellitus.