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An average Indian newborn weighs 700 grams less than its European counterpart. Yet, their absolute fat masses are on par. At birth, these children are already adipose (fat) and exhibit some degree of insulin resistance when compared to European babies.
This difference persists as they grow, such that the average age of diabetes diagnosis in India is 10 years lower than Europe, according to published medical literature.
Now a collaborative study led by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has discovered that changes in a few genes found in South Asian populations, which are known to pre-dispose people to type-2 diabetes and lipid metabolism, could throw light on understanding the genetic basis and in future lead to medical therapies.
In a new population genetics study, the CCMB scientists said that Indians carried a different set of mutations (changes) in MSTN, DOK5 and CLOCK genes, which are widely associated with potential implications in diabetes and lipid metabolism.
Since South Asia constitutes one sixth of the global population, the relevance of these findings in medical genetic studies could be significant. CCMB has been undertaking studies on population genetics for tracing human origin and genetic basis of diseases in Indian population.
India is one of the fastest growing countries with high incidence of diabetes and cases of metabolic syndrome, both of which have been linked to recent rapid urbanisation.
Even non-obese Asian Indians have exhibited increased levels of insulin resistance compared to Europeans.
The report said it attempts to interpret whether past natural selection influenced a genetic variation to help increased infant survival ended up a bane after diet and lifestyle changes in recent decades. However, given the complexity of diabetes and lipid metabolism, more comprehensive studies were required into the genetic links before coming to conclusions.
The study was done by CCMB along with University of Tartu, Estonia; Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai; and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The findings have been published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
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