Genes May Put Black Americans at Risk for Diabetes

Monday, January 4 (HealthDay News)-A new study suggests that hereditary genetic mutations may explain why blacks are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than whites.

Dr. Kam Patterson, Dean of the Department of Cardiology at the University of North Carolina and Director of the McAllister Heart Institute, said: In a university news release.

As a result, the incidence of diabetes in blacks can be high.

The authors of the new study discovered their findings while analyzing RNA and DNA from patients with heart disease. “We didn’t look at differences in genetics or gene expression based on race or ethnicity. We looked at the key factors that contribute to the differences in gene expression in all the patients we’re studying,” Patterson said. Explained.

Blacks may have developed another way to metabolize glucose, or sugar, in long-standing history, Patterson pointed out.

“In essence, the African population moved geographically when it came to the United States, but their genes retained a pattern that was more suitable for their ancestral homes and became maladaptated as the African population adopted the Western diet. It became an adaptation, “he said.

The findings were published online in the journal on December 9th. PLoS One..

-Randy Dotinga

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