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Ancient origins of low lean mass among South Asians and implications for modern type 2 diabetes susceptibility

Pomeroy, E; Mushrif-Tripathy, V; Cole, TJ; Wells, JCK; Stock, JT; (2019) Ancient origins of low lean mass among South Asians and implications for modern type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Scientific Reports , 9 (1) , Article 10515. 10.1038/s41598-019-46960-9. Green open access

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Abstract

Living South Asians have low lean tissue mass relative to height, which contributes to their elevated type 2 diabetes susceptibility, particularly when accompanied by obesity. While ongoing lifestyle transitions account for rising obesity, the origins of low lean mass remain unclear. We analysed proxies for lean mass and stature among South Asian skeletons spanning the last 11,000 years (n = 197) to investigate the origins of South Asian low lean mass. Compared with a worldwide sample (n = 2,003), South Asian skeletons indicate low lean mass. Stature-adjusted lean mass increased significantly over time in South Asia, but to a very minor extent (0.04 z-score units per 1,000 years, adjusted R^{2} = 0.01). In contrast stature decreased sharply when agriculture was adopted. Our results indicate that low lean mass has characterised South Asians since at least the early Holocene and may represent long-term climatic adaptation or neutral variation. This phenotype is therefore unlikely to change extensively in the short term, so other strategies to address increasing non-communicable disease rates must be pursued.

Type: Article
Title: Ancient origins of low lean mass among South Asians and implications for modern type 2 diabetes susceptibility
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46960-9
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46960-9
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author(s) 2019. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Biological anthropology, Type 2 diabetes
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10078960
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