While all human beings obviously belong to the same species, different physical appearances, such as hair color, texture, skin color, and even size, does contribute to the particular types of illnesses that affect various ethnic groups. In many cases, these illnesses are overwhelmingly more predominant in one ethnic group than another, but the question is why.
Dr. Luis Retamozo, at HMA Keene Family Practice in Texas, says, “To approach this subject in terms of ethnicity is much better than doing it in terms of race, due to the fact that most people in modern society have a “gene pool” that reflects a variety of ancestries, regardless of their phenotype or outside appearance.”
Jane Sadler, a medical doctor in Garland, TX, says that according to the Center for Disease Control, Alaskan and American Indians are four times more likely to die from H1NI than other American ethnicities. Sadler adds that a recent Canadian study, observed that a disproportionally higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease occurred among South Asian participants at 10.7 percent, as opposed to Chinese participants at only 2.4 percent.
“South Asian respondents are more prone to a metabolic syndrome such as central obesity, glucose intolerance, a poor lipid profile, and diabetes,” says Sadler, whereas the Alaskans and American Indians’ suffer from a higher rate of HIN1. “These ethnic Native Americans are more likely to suffer some form of underlying chronic disease such as asthma.”
Retamozo agrees, and explains that while there are many ethnic-related illnesses, the most common does seem to be Metabolic Syndrome, which is the propensity for obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, and most often affects people having the “Asian Gene,” which includes most Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics. This last group also has a predominance of diabetes according to Sadler.
“Research to find out how much obesity affects the genes of future generations [is ongoing],” Retamozo explains. “My bet is that it does, but we do not [yet] know in what way. One opposite example is the so-called “Asian Gene” that appeared generations ago in populations that were exposed to long periods of decreased food availability. This gene causes our body to store calories a lot easier. This was a protective biological adaptation, very useful in the event of famine, but the individual with this gene when exposed to an oversupply of food will store calories easier, with the resultant obesity, and other associated diseases.”
Retamozo says that he has also noticed that the Metabolic Syndrome is gaining ground these days due to the obesity epidemic in all ethnic groups.
“Our country is one of the greatest experiments in ethnic variability, the melting pot,” he adds, and states the example of the Sickle Cell Anemia in relation to the people of African ancestry. He says this disease most likely evolved to protect against malaria, which infects red blood cells, however successive mutations caused the red blood cells to fail in their ability to carry enough oxygen, which resulted in the outcome of the disease.
In addition, certain other types of anemias are prevalent in people of Mediterranean ancestry. “Vitamin D deficiency affects anybody who lives an indoor life mostly, with little exposure to the sun, and may affect people of darker colored skin more if they migrate to northern areas of the world,” Retamozo explains. “On the other side, when people of light colored skin migrate to southern areas of the world, they may become afflicted with more skin cancers.”
Other illnesses unique to particular ethnic groups include certain digestive differences like lactose intolerance, more prevalent in ethnicities whose ancestors did not drink milk and were not farmers, but rather hunters and nomads, since these populations do not make the lactase enzyme necessary for milk digestion.
“In ethnicities of Northern European descent, but not exclusively, a major example is celiac disease,” says Retamozo, “where gluten, a protein found in wheat mostly, causes inflammation in the intestines, leading to a decreased ability to absorb nutrients.”
Therefore, it seems that the gene pool that each person has reacts in different ways to the environment with examples being the amount of the food supply, exposure to the elements, dietary and physical factors, violence or peace, and cultural traits. It also appears migration patterns change the way a person’s body functions in both notable immediate changes, and changes that happen in successive generations.
A final disease, Wilson’s disease, is one that Sadler identifies as most common in eastern Europeans, Sicilians, and southern Italians. Wilson’s disease is a rare inherited disorder that causes the body to take in and keep too much copper. The copper deposits in the liver, brain, kidneys, and eyes, with these deposits causing tissue damage, death of the tissues, and scarring, and results in the affected organs to stop working correctly.
“If both parents carry an abnormal gene for Wilson’s disease, there is a 25 percent chance in each pregnancy that the child will have the disorder,” says Sadler.
According to Retamozo too, research in the area of particular ethnic diseases and illnesses has really only seen progress within the last few decades. “I [will] also refer to the Human Genome Project, which is already finished. This is a platform to start uncovering how peoples gene’s act, as well as how these genes interact with “new additions to the pool,” or new genes with the resultant possible mutations. These in turn, change the way our body interacts with our environment.”
A fascinating topic, Retamozo concludes, “I think the greatest challenge we face in the science field is that because we all have an evolving gene pool due to human migration patterns, we are learning how to develop meaningful science that can detect and treat abnormalities.”