Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are highly prevalent and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, the impact of these conditions may be worse on historically underserved minorities, particularly African Americans. Genetic ancestry and differences in physiology are unlikely to b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Obesity |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/396416 |
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| _version_ | 1832549264310403072 |
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| author | Shana McCormack Struan F. A. Grant |
| author_facet | Shana McCormack Struan F. A. Grant |
| author_sort | Shana McCormack |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obesity and type 2 diabetes are highly prevalent and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, the impact of these conditions may be worse on historically underserved minorities, particularly African Americans. Genetic ancestry and differences in physiology are unlikely to be the sole or primary determinants of these disparities. In addition, research in this area has the ethically problematic possibility of conflating race with biology. Despite these important considerations and the challenges of conducting this work, population-based approaches for investigating the etiology of obesity and T2D may yield useful information about the pathophysiology of disease, and have implications that extend to all affected individuals. The purpose of this paper is to describe what is understood about the genetic variation that underlies obesity and T2D in African Americans and other individuals of more recent African descent and to highlight several examples that illustrate how ensuring adequate minority representation in genetic research improves its quality. For a variety of reasons a number of unique insights have been possible as a result of these efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c89fb5184e524dc3be3be9d6d6dedf47 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-0708 2090-0716 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Obesity |
| spelling | doaj-art-c89fb5184e524dc3be3be9d6d6dedf472025-02-03T06:11:49ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162013-01-01201310.1155/2013/396416396416Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African AmericansShana McCormack0Struan F. A. Grant1Division of Endocrinology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADivision of Human Genetics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAObesity and type 2 diabetes are highly prevalent and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, the impact of these conditions may be worse on historically underserved minorities, particularly African Americans. Genetic ancestry and differences in physiology are unlikely to be the sole or primary determinants of these disparities. In addition, research in this area has the ethically problematic possibility of conflating race with biology. Despite these important considerations and the challenges of conducting this work, population-based approaches for investigating the etiology of obesity and T2D may yield useful information about the pathophysiology of disease, and have implications that extend to all affected individuals. The purpose of this paper is to describe what is understood about the genetic variation that underlies obesity and T2D in African Americans and other individuals of more recent African descent and to highlight several examples that illustrate how ensuring adequate minority representation in genetic research improves its quality. For a variety of reasons a number of unique insights have been possible as a result of these efforts.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/396416 |
| spellingShingle | Shana McCormack Struan F. A. Grant Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans Journal of Obesity |
| title | Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans |
| title_full | Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans |
| title_fullStr | Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans |
| title_short | Genetics of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in African Americans |
| title_sort | genetics of obesity and type 2 diabetes in african americans |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/396416 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shanamccormack geneticsofobesityandtype2diabetesinafricanamericans AT struanfagrant geneticsofobesityandtype2diabetesinafricanamericans |