Gene Linked to Asthma in African-Americans

By:
in Asthma
Published: August 1, 2011

Researchers have discovered that between 26 and 29 percent of those of African descent carry a gene that appears to make them susceptible to asthma.

The EVE Consortium carried out the study, which was published in the journal Nature Genetics. The study reveals that the PYHIN1 and its variations may account for the large number of people of African descent who have asthma.

By comparison, the researchers found that fewer than 5 percent of Caucasian or Latino background carried even the variant of the gene.

The study was based on an analysis of pooled data from nine research groups. The data involved 6,500 patients and included African-Americans, Caucasians and Latin-Americans.

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