Decoding the disease: does Asia have a future with diabetes?

According to the updated fifth edition of the International Diabetes Federation's Diabetes Atlas 2012, released on World Diabetes Day earlier this month, there are 371 million people in the world with diabetes. If urgent action is not taken, that figure will grow to 552 million by 2030.

China leads the figures with 92.3 million people with diabetes, 57 per cent of whom are undiagnosed. Dr Jenny Leung, president of Diabetes HK, says Hong Kong is experiencing a diabetes calamity, too. "We estimate that 10 per cent of the population, or 700,000 people, have diabetes in Hong Kong, but only 350,000 know it."

In Singapore, diabetes statistics are similar. Singapore's health minister Gan Kim Yong, speaking on World Diabetes Day, said: "Today, more than 400,000 Singaporeans over 40 live with diabetes, and by 2030 it is estimated to increase to 600,000." With a population of just over five million, Singapore would cross the 10 per cent population threshold next year.

Are East Asians more at risk for type-2 diabetes than are other ethnic groups? To find out, a team of 75 scientists from 27 universities and institutions worldwide are conducting a genetic study involving five major ancestry groups.

The study involves 10,000 participants of East Asian, South Asian, European, Hispanic and African-American descent, half of whom have diabetes. The sequencing of 18,000 of each participants' protein-coding genes will be completed this year.

By comparing the DNA of individuals with type-2 diabetes and controls, the scientists hope to isolate genes or variants that increase or reduce an individual's predisposition for developing the disease, says T.M. Teslovich, research fellow in statistical genetics at the University of Michigan.