Ethnic Variation in Diabetes Mellitus
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ethnic Variation in Diabetes Mellitus
IRAS ID
239982
Contact name
Sven Plein
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Patients with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing heart disease than people without diabetes. South Asians are the largest ethnic minority in the United Kingdom and account for more than 4% of the population. Heart disease and type 2 diabetes develop at younger age in South Asians and the complications of these diseases such as heart attack and heart failure are seen more commonly compared to white Europeans. The reasons for this difference are not fully understood. By looking in detail at the way that diabetes affects the heart in South Asians and in White Europeans, we hope to understand more about how diabetes affects the heart in South Asians and all people with diabetes.\nIn this study we will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart to measure fibrosis (scarring and stiffening of the heart muscle) and blood flow through the heart muscle in 110 South Asian and white European patients with diabetes and establish whether they are related to ethnicity.\nWe will also try to find out if heart muscle fibrosis and reduced blood flow in patients with diabetes are related to the future risk of suffering a heart attack or heart failure by following study patients longer term. The results of this study will help to design future research to test how new medical treatments for diabetes may reduce the risk of heart disease especially in South Asian patients.\n\nThe aims of this study are to utilise recently developed cardiac MRI (CMR) techniques to investigate the mechanisms of heart disease in patients with diabetes. \nWe aim to identify the extent and patterns of fibrosis and impaired myocardial blood flow (MBF) in patients with diabetes and establish whether they are related to ethnicity.\nWe also aim to use data from this study to inform whether changes in tissue characteristics in patients with diabetes are independently associated with adverse outcomes. To that end we plan to follow up the 110 patients in this study longer term. The identification of particular changes in the tissue characteristics such as increased diffuse fibrosis (scar) and decreased blood flow response to adenosine stress will help plan future studies to use these markers as surrogate endpoints and establish if they are reversible with novel pharmacological therapies.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/YH/0125
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion