Genes & Health Metabolism Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the impact of genetic variation on metabolic health and disease in British Bangladeshis and Pakistanis in the Genes & Health programme.
IRAS ID
306139
Contact name
Sarah Finer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
People of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin are particularly affected by metabolic diseases, which occur when abnormal chemical processes disrupt the body's metabolism. These include type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and enzyme deficiencies. We want to understand the contribution of gene changes on metabolic health and disease in people from these ethnic groups. Past work in this area significantly under-represents ethnic minorities. Our preliminary work shows that people from these ethnic minority groups are likely to have rare gene changes that could uncover new understanding about why some people get metabolic diseases, and how to treat them better.
We will invite participants of the existing Genes & Health study, and their relatives, to a new research study to find out more. We will include people with and without gene changes of interest so that we can understand the effects of the gene change on metabolic health and disease.
We will invite participants to a study visit which includes a standard medical assessment, including history-taking, examination, and taking measurements. We may also ask participants to complete questionnaires about their health and diet, to have a ‘metabolic blood test’ (where blood tests are taken after a glucose drink or food supplement) or to have an imaging test (such as a body fat or liver scan or MRI scan). In some cases, we may invite participants to a second study visit to complete these tests and discuss their results.
Our research team includes laboratory scientists and doctors specialising in metabolism. We will analyse the results obtained in these study visits carefully, taking great care about confidentiality. We work closely with community partners to ensure the public and patients are involved in our research. We expect this work to uncover important new discoveries to help improve the identification and treatment of metabolic disease.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
22/WS/0109
Date of REC Opinion
27 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion