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UK South Asian children are already heading on a path towards type 2 diabetes at age 10, according to new research published today funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the Wellcome Trust.

Type 2 diabetes usually develops around age 40 or later. The new findings show that signs of disease risk are already detectable in apparently healthy British Asians in childhood.

The study was co-authored by Professor Naveed Sattar who leads the metabolic medicine group within the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Centre. Published today in the online journal, PLoS Medicine, the study analysed blood samples from 4796 British children aged nine and 10.

Even at this young age, tests revealed that children from South Asian families had higher levels of  blood markers that are associated with type 2 diabetes. Black African-Caribbean children were also more likely to have higher risk profiles than white children, but the difference was less marked.

Although the study did not directly address the causes of these differences, the researchers think that environmental factors, including lifestyle, are likely to be particularly important while genes may also play a role.

It is estimated that 2.5 million people in the UK have diabetes. South Asian people in the UK are about three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than white Europeans. People with this condition are less responsive to the hormone insulin, which is important for controlling blood sugar levels. People with diabetes are much more susceptible to heart and circulatory disease – the UK’s biggest killer.

Professor Sattar said: "We already know South Asians are at higher risk for diabetes and the results of this study suggest such higher risk is already evident in childhood.

“We urgently need studies to determine to what extent such risks can be offset by lifestyle interventions in South Asians. In the meantime, the work reaffirms the message that South Asians have more to lose by excessive weight gain and therefore more reason than the average to maintain a healthy weight and good levels of exercise.”

Dr. Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the BHF said: “The prevalence of heart disease and diabetes is disproportionately high in South Asian people, and this research shows that signs of differences in risk are already apparent in young children.

“This shows how important it is that we take a life course approach to tackling health inequalities. We need to intervene early to divert these children off the road to ill health.”

The BHF provides a variety of heart health information for South Asian people at bhf.org.uk/southasian

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The paper is available through this link: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000263

For more media information please contact Eleanor Cowie, Media Relations Officer on 0141 330 3683 or e.cowie@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 21 April 2010