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Studies A-Z > D > DRN 108
Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes in Multi-Ethnic Populations
A proposal for the investigation of genetic susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes and its microvascular/ macrovascular complications in UK-resident South Asians.
Background
- Type 2 diabetes is a growing epidemic that disproportionately affects the South Asian community.
- 10 per cent of the South Asian community in the United Kingdom are affected by Type 2 diabetes compared to two per cent of the white population
- 20 per cent of South Asians aged over 50 have Type 2 diabetes
- South Asians are more prone to develop the long-term complications of diabetes with:
2-3 times greater risk of dying of cardiovascular disease than the white population
10 times greater risk of developing end-stage kidney failure
This increased risk cannot be fully explained by environmental or lifestyle factors in the South Asian population, but few studies have attempted to identify a genetic predisposition to diabetes. Most of the studies carried out have been focused on either a mixed South Asian population or on individuals from Chennai.
As there is significant genetic diversity between different ancestral populations in the Indian subcontinent, it is not clear whether susceptibility genes identified in one population will have a similar impact on disease risk in other ethnic populations.
Also, few studies have made direct genetic comparisons between South Asians and other ethnic groups to explain the high risk of Type 2 diabetes in the former population.
Aims
This is a large-scale association study and is a collaboration between University Hospitals of Leicester and the University of Birmingham to investigate genetic susceptibility to Type 2 diabetes in South Asian populations of different ancestry.
Birmingham will focus on people with Punjabi ancestry while in Leicester we will focus on the Gujarati community. The aim is to establish a DNA resource from South Asian Gujarati subjects with and without Type 2 diabetes that can be used to identify the genetic factors that influence susceptibility to the disease and its long-term complications in this population.
A similar resource from White British/Irish subjects will also be used for comparative purposes, as will a resource from White British/Irish participants without diabetes.
What happens in the study
Extensive anthropometric and clinical data, including blood and urine samples, will be collected from the participants, with slightly more clinical data being collected from those with diabetes.
Practice involvement
Although a number of participants will be recruited through UHL diabetes clinics, with the large numbers of people needed the support of General Practices is vital. There is a range of ways they can do this, including:
- Displaying a poster promoting the study in their waiting room
- Database searches to identify potential eligible patients with type 2 diabetes
- Sending letters via mail merge, which would consist of a covering letter from the practice, an information sheet and a reply slip to be returned to the research team
- Providing a room for the research nurse to undertake the study procedures
Implications for patients
Patients recruited into the study will need to attend an appointment in order that the clinical and anthropometric data can be collected; this could be co-ordinated with existing phlebotomy annual review clinics. Follow-up of recruits is not required; therefore after the initial data collection the impact on patients is minimal.
How will the practice benefit?
Practices will benefit from supporting this study by being involved in a large-scale study to determine the genetic factors that raise susceptibility to type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. This could lead to early identification of people at risk and the early implementation of prevention and self-management strategies.
Posters have been produced in Gujarati and English in order to publicise this study in GP practices.