Why the Emphasis on Bangladeshi and Pakistani Individuals in East London?

The ongoing study exclusively enlists adult volunteers across East London identifying as Bangladeshi, British-Bangladeshi, Pakistani, or British-Pakistani. Several reasons underpin this selection:

1. Health Disparities: East London harbors some of the most health-deprived individuals in the UK, located in close proximity to vital healthcare facilities such as NHS hospitals, primary care centers, and medical schools/universities. For instance, Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations in the UK exhibit significantly higher rates of diabetes and various other health challenges.

2. Ethnic Demographics: Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities represent the largest ethnic minority groups in East London.

3. Genetic Diversity: South Asian genetic makeup varies, observable at the genome level among Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Tamil individuals. Fit adults with distinctive genetic traits are more prevalent in cases of parental relatedness.

4. Rich Health Records: East London boasts extensive and integrated primary care NHS electronic health records covering over a million individuals. This facilitates large-scale comparisons between genetics and health conditions, a task more challenging in other regions and countries.

5. Understudied South Asian Population: Many health and genetic studies predominantly focus on populations of white European origin, leaving South Asian communities understudied. To ensure local communities benefit from the impending genomics revolution in healthcare, the East London Genes & Health initiative specifically targets individuals of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage.

Understanding the Genetic Makeup of South Asians:

In typical human genetic studies, DNA sequencing covers all protein-coding genes (the "exome") or the entire genome, providing a substantial dataset. The pattern of genetic variants is not random but organized, with variants close together in the genome tending to be inherited in one block.

Although humans share 99% of their DNA sequence, the remaining 1% holds valuable information influenced by parental genetic makeup. South Asian genetic differences, such as those between Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Tamil individuals, are evident at the genome level. Past genetic studies reveal that nearly all modern-day South Asians, even from isolated tribal groups, descend from two ancestral human populations.

Population-specific genetic variations can contribute to diseases. For example, a small percentage of South Asian individuals carry a genetic variant in the MYBPC3 gene, increasing the risk of heart failure and heart attacks, believed to have originated around 30,000 years ago.