Genetic differences highlight race bias in medicine: New Zealand research

Genetic research on the immune systems of different races has shown differences that highlight inequality in healthcare, a New Zealand scientist said Tuesday.

The findings showed the immune systems of Maori and Pacific peoples (Pasifika) were very different from those with European ancestry, Victoria University molecular geneticist Geoff Chambers said.

Earlier investigations had identified genetic markers that traced the origin of Austronesian people (Polynesian, Maori, Melanesian, Micronesian and people from parts of Southeast Asia) back to China's Taiwan.

Chambers said his work used molecular methods for forensic identification and as indicators for a range of diseases, including alcoholism and diabetes, and showed they were genetically distinct from Europeans.

"It goes some way to explaining why some autoimmune diseases that are relatively common in people of European descent, such as multiple sclerosis, are virtually unheard of among Maori and Pasifika," Chambers said in a statement.

"It also partly explains why diseases such as type-2 diabetes are more common in Maori or Pasifika people."

The findings highlighted an existing inequity in medical treatment, which was an increasingly genetic field of knowledge.

"Many new drugs have been developed by Europeans for Europeans, but if we are to deliver these advances effectively to Maori and Pasifika people then we need new information, which we must uncover ourselves. This requires knowing something about their genetic make-up," he said.

The research had implications for the public health system and organizations like the bone marrow registry so they could increase the number of matched donors and help improve the outcome of transplants. Endi