Understanding ethnic differences in Type 2

Towards understanding ethnic differences in the progression to Type 2 diabetes: a preliminary phenotyping study in people with recent-onset diabetes in South East London

• Dr Louise Goff of King’s College London
• £219,181; 18-month project grant
• September 2012 – March 2014

Background to project

In the UK, people of West African origin are at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes than white people of European origin. Type 2 is often associated with storing excess fat around the waist and with high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (the main constituent of oils and fats) in the blood. However, people of West African origin tend to have low levels of fat round the waist and low levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood. Accordingly the development of diabetes in this ethnic group is likely to occur via different mechanisms to those present in other ethnic groups.

Project aims

In this study Dr Louise Goff and her team will investigate insulin production and insulin sensitivity among people of West African and White European origin from South East London, who have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. They will measure the insulin produced in response to a meal and to glucose injection. They will also investigate how the metabolism of glucose and fat responds to insulin in the liver and the body tissues. They will use imaging techniques to work out how much fat is deposited around the waist and in the liver, pancreas and muscle of participants.

The researchers hope to uncover differences in the metabolic processes underlying early Type 2 diabetes in people of different ethnic groups, enabling the development of new treatments for diabetes that are specifically targeted to such groups.

Potential benefit to people with diabetes

A better understanding of the mechanisms by which diabetes develops in different populations will enable more effective prevention strategies and treatments to be developed, ultimately helping to reduce the incidence and burden of diabetes in high risk ethnic groups.