IIT research finds increased risk of diabetes among South Asians

An Indian Institute of Technology-led international research team has identified a gene/protein variation among Indians and other South Asians that increased the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and hypertension.

This multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary team of researchers found that this variation was present in approximately 15 per cent of Indian and other South Asian populations. The researchers also found that people carrying this variant are 1.5 times more likely to have hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease.

This combination could account for the higher prevalence of metabolic diseases among Indians and other South Asians. The results of this study have been published online in the peer-reviewed Diabetes, the flagship journal of the American Diabetes Association, attesting to the significance of the work.

Explaining the key findings of the research, Prof Nitish Mahapatra, department of biotechnology, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT-Madras, said, “South Asians are at greater risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Besides environmental factors, our genetic architecture is believed to be responsible for this observation. However, the key genetic variants that enhance our disease risk remain poorly understood. Our study identified one key genetic risk factor for cardio-metabolic diseases. We also discovered the molecular basis for the enhanced disease risk in people who carry this mutation in their genomes.”