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Asians Adopting To Lifestyle In Scotland Have a Higher Risk of Heart Disease

Med Headlines - People of Asian origin, especially those from India, China, and Pakistan are at greater risk of developing cardiac problems if they move to Scotland. This is the finding of a new study presented by Edinburgh University and NHS National Services Scotland, which indicates that Asians moving to European countries tend to adopt a poor lifestyle and diet, and thus augment their risk of developing heart problems.
Surprisingly, the findings do not apply to the English people residing in Scotland who face a 20% lower risk of dying due to heart disease. The study is based on an analysis of death certificates of people residing in Scotland, of 25 years of age or older. However, study indicates that English people, who were residents of Scotland faced a 25% lower death rate as compared to Scottish-born people. The study further indicates that Scots faced a 22% lower death rate due to heart ailments. However, Scotts with Asian origin, like general Scottish population, are more prone to develop heart ailments. Dr Colin Fischbacher, who is a public health medicine consultant, said that Asian people belonging to India and China often faced a reduced risk of developing heart problems, but they put themselves on a greater risk by adopting a Scottish lifestyle.

The findings also indicate that Pakistani men, who lived in Scotland faced a 1% greater risk of death due to heart diseases as compared to Scottish-born men. However, the rate is 30% higher if compared with men living in England. As indicated by Dr Fischbacher, people of this ethnic group often have a greater tendency to develop problems such as diabetes and abdominal obesity. These problems can elevate the risk of developing heart problems if they adopt an unhealthy lifestyle.

Dr Mike Knapton, from the British Heart Foundation, comments that the research “underlines the need to better untangle the relationship between our genes, our biology and our environment. Research to provide answers to these questions will help us to tackle the preventable health inequalities of geography and ethnicity.”

With rising incidents of heart attacks, Scotland has been labeled as the heart attack capital of the UK. A British Heart Foundation survey conducted earlier this year reported an attack every 15 minutes. The survey also indicated that nearly 10% of people living in Scotland are suffering from some form of cardiac or circulatory problem.

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