Approved research

Epidemiology and genetics of non-communicable diseases in South Asians

Lay summary

Migrants from South Asia such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh make up a large proportion (approximately 17%) of the UK's foreign born population. South Asians also represent a quarter of the world's population. However, health research on South Asian remains inadequate. To date, studies had shown that South Asian bear a disproportionately higher relative burden for cardiometabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), type-2 diabetes (T2D) and renal diseases as compared to the European [1]. This observed differences in disease prevalence between different ethnic groups may be attributable to either environmental factors such as lifestyle, diet and physical activity or genetic factors. Also, the epidemiology of other diseases in South Asian are still not well studied. Hence, the general health and well-being of South Asians is an important issue to investigate. In this project, we will establish and compare the frequency measures (e.g. incidence and mortality) in South Asians and other ethnic populations within the UK Biobank. We will also compare these measures with other population cohorts outside of UK. We will investigate the contribution of genetics and other traditional risk factors such as high blood pressure and body mass index to the development and progression of various diseases. This information may allow us to develop novel treatment and improve prevention strategies by better stratification of resources for disease surveillance and education to targeted individuals with higher risk for disease. This project is expected to run for 3 years in the first instance.