Poor health among Bangladeshis and Pakistanis living in Britain could be partly explained by their genes, scientists believe.
In the largest ever genome sequencing project in a specific community, researchers will over the next 20 years collect saliva samples and health records from 100,000 south Asians living in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which has some of the lowest life expectancies in the country.
Pakistani men have Britain’s highest rates of heart disease and south Asian groups are twice as likely to die early from a heart condition as the rest of the population. Geneticists at Queen Mary University in east London believe that the analysis of the community’s DNA could shed light on the role genes play in vulnerability to diseases. It may also highlight ways that medical science can target particular genes that are linked to common health problems.
David Van Heel, professor of genomic medicine at the university and the lead scientist on the project, said that volunteers would not be paid for their DNA samples, which will be gathered largely through GP surgeries and other NHS locations. “We think that genetics is the future of healthcare. If you don’t take part, you will miss out on the benefits for society as a whole.”
Richard Trembath, vice-principal for health at Queen Mary, said that the high levels of marriages between close relatives in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities raised hopes of identifying “knock-out” genes, where an individual inherits copies of the same mutation from both parents.
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The East London Mosque has given its blessing to the plans and its director, Dilowar Khan, is one of the first 46 volunteers to take part, alongside the mosque’s chief imam, Abdul Qayum.
Professor Van Heel said that the researchers would tread carefully through the complex map of east London Islam.
The influence of diet, upbringing, genetics and poverty among London’s south Asian groups remains unclear.
According to the 2011 census, 13.5 per cent of the people in Tower Hamlets have a long-term health problem or disability that limits their daily lives.
The genome sequencing is funded by a £4 million grant from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council.
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“This is the first time a large-scale genetics study has focused on two distinct ethnic minority groups, with high levels of health concerns in the community and the potential for significant genetic variation,” Professor Trembath said.