Race and predisposition to diseases

A big greeting to all the users who make life in this great scientific community, I hope this month is very good and very useful for everyone. Do not forget to take care of your health and not commit so many excesses this Christmas, which is finally a time to have a good time, and it is best to do it in a healthy way.

Each country has its culture, even when they are next to each other they are usually different in many aspects, either by those who have colonized them and inherited their customs as in the case of most Latin countries. Each race or ethnic group has its particular history, its customs, its way of living, its diet, and this inevitably defines many characteristics.

I particularly want to talk about this, the diseases that have the highest prevalence in people of certain races or ethnic groups in particular, so I invite you to continue reading, because what I am going to tell you will surely interest you.

Pixabay/ Author: BarbaraBonanno

As the world has progressed for thousands of years, migrations have been very common, some to seek better conditions, others have been forced, avoiding wars or moved by natural catastrophes.

In the case of Latin America in particular, which is a story I know quite well, the Spanish arrived in 1492 and from that moment many African brothers were brought in as slaves to work the land, to this is added the great miscegenation that It occurred among the South American aborigines, Africans and Europeans.

I mention this because the great diversity of physical aspects that are usually found in this part of the world is due to this mixture of races, but in the same way a predisposition to certain diseases was created as a result of this same mixture of races.

And this is explained by the fact that, just to give an example, the black race of African brothers were accustomed to a hotter and more arid climate, for which the organism adapted for hundreds of years to tolerate these levels of heat, drought etc That is why when they move to a place that is colder or higher, where there is less oxygen, more water, they have an even greater tendency than most to suffer from High blood pressure.

Pixabay/ Author: fabiomondelli

This also speaks of having between "1.5 and 2.5 more likely than the general population to have a heart attack". These figures are by themselves demonstrative of this reality that I have been talking about and the relationship that exists between a certain type of breed and the predisposition to certain diseases. And this not only reveals this reality, but it is also a characteristic to consider when treating any type of specific disease.

Similarly, we can say that the Asian race is more predisposed to insulin resistance than other races in the world. This can be explained by many reasons, but there is a theory that gives a genetic reason that is very interesting to me.

And it has to do with the "thrifty genotype", which was generated as a tool for the body to resist periods of famine, and therefore, accumulate more fat at the abdominal level, but with the urbanism that is experienced today and with the relatively easy to get food, this same mechanism of "defense and survival" plays against.

Pixabay/ Author: cuncon

And if we analyze the history of many Asian countries, in which wars and famines, a constant overpopulation for a long time, we will fully understand why they are more susceptible to certain diseases.

I know that history is not liked by most people, and this is not a history post either, because it is not my area, but I should mention these things in particular because ultimately as a human species we are the result of a evolutionary process that has allowed us to adapt, but at the same time this same adaptation process in climatic conditions or with a very different diet can work against us.

Of course, it is not only the race that will determine whether a disease occurs or not, we must also always consider the diet, the climate, the lifestyle we lead, age, among other factors that are important in our lives and that they define us.

So far my publication today, I hope you liked this medical and anthropological topic, if you have any comments, suggestions or questions, you can leave them in the comments and I will gladly answer them.