By including multiethnic participants, a large-scale genetic study has identified more regions of the genome related to features related to type 2 diabetes than if the research had been conducted only in Europeans.
The international MAGIC collaboration, made up of more than 400 world academics, conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter. Now published in Genetics of nature, their findings show that the expansion of research on different ancestors produces more and better results, in addition to benefiting the overall patient care.
So far, almost 87 percent such genomic research has been conducted in Europeans. This means that the way these findings are implemented may not optimally benefit people of non-European ancestry.
The team analyzed data from a wide range of cohorts, which included more than 280,000 people without diabetes. The researchers examined the glycemic traits, which are used to diagnose diabetes and control blood sugar and insulin levels.
The researchers incorporated 30 percent of the global cohort with individuals of East Asian, Hispanic, African American, South Asian, and sub-Saharan African descent. In doing so, they discovered 24 more loci (or regions of the genome) linked to glycemic traits than if they had conducted the research only in Europeans.
Professor Inês Barroso, of the University of Exeter, who led the research, said: “Type 2 diabetes is a growing global health challenge, with most of the largest increases occurring outside of Europe, although there are many genetic factors between different countries and cultures, our research tells us that they do differ, in ways we need to understand. It is critical to ensure that we can provide an accurate approach to diabetes medicine that optimizes treatment and care for all. “
The first author, Dr. Ji Chen of the University of Exeter said: “We discovered 24 additional regions of the genome by including cohorts that were more ethnically diverse than we would have done if we restricted our work to Europeans. Beyond moral arguments for ensuring that research reflects global populations, our work shows that this approach generates better results. “
The team found that while some loci were not detected in all ancestors, they were still useful for capturing information about the glycemic trait of this ancestry. Co-author Cassandra Spracklen, an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said: “Our results are important because we are advancing in the use of genetic scores to weight a person’s risk of diabetes. We know that scores are developed exclusively in individuals of one the ancestry does not work well in people of different ancestry.This is important as health care is increasingly moving towards a more precise approach.If genetic variation is not taken into account depending on ancestry, it will affect our ability to accurately diagnose diabetes. “
The study is entitled “The trans-ancestral genomic architecture of glycemic traits” and is published in Genetics of nature.
The trans-ancestral genomic architecture of glycemic features, Genetics of nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038 / s41588-021-00852-9 , www.nature.com/articles/s41588-021-00852-9
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Citation: Ethnic Diversity Helps Identify More Diabetes-Related Tray Genomic Regions (2021, May 31) Retrieved May 31, 2021 at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-ethnic-diversity- genomic-regions-linked.html
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