A\u00a0new\u00a0study\u00a0published in\u00a0Neurology\u00a0and\u00a0led\u00a0by Queen Mary University of London has\u00a0revealed that\u00a0people of South Asian,\u00a0African , and European\u00a0ancestry share many of the same genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS).\u00a0<\/p>\n
This new study is one of the most ancestrally diverse genetic analyses of MS\u00a0conducted in the UK. MS affects\u00a0around\u00a0150,000\u00a0people in the UK and more than two million people worldwide, yet most genetic research to date has focused on people of White European ancestry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The research team analysed genetic data from more than 3,000 people with MS and over 27,000\u00a0without MS (called\u00a0controls). They\u00a0looked at\u00a0participantsfrom the ADAMS Project, which specifically recruits people with MS from diverse backgrounds,\u00a0and\u00a0cases and controls from the UK\u00a0Biobank. The researchers found that genetic variants in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region, a key\u00a0component\u00a0of the immune system and a long-established driver of MS\u00a0risk, were strongly\u00a0associated with MS\u00a0in people of South Asian and African\u00a0ancestry, as well as\u00a0people of European ancestry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was also evidence that some genetic patterns differed between ancestry groups.\u00a0The researchers\u00a0identified\u00a0a genetic variant that may reduce the risk of MS and is\u00a0relatively common\u00a0in people of South Asian ancestry, but rare in people of European ancestry. Since this variant is\u00a0uncommon\u00a0in Europeans, it would\u00a0likely not\u00a0be detected in studies that only include European\u00a0populations. This\u00a0finding\u00a0highlights\u00a0how ancestry-specific genetic\u00a0variants and\u00a0effects can\u00a0be missed when research\u00a0lacks\u00a0diversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0study\u00a0also\u00a0found\u00a0that most genetic variants previously\u00a0identified\u00a0in European populations\u00a0also\u00a0appear to\u00a0be present\u00a0in people of South Asian and African ancestry. While the\u00a0strength of these effects varied, the overall pattern\u00a0suggests that MS is driven by shared\u00a0underlying\u00a0immune and biological mechanisms across populations, rather than being\u00a0a\u00a0fundamentally\u00a0different disease\u00a0among\u00a0different\u00a0ancestry\u00a0groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Previous\u00a0research has shown stark racial disparities in MS outcomes, with people from Black ethnic backgrounds often experiencing more severe disability and worse disease trajectories than their White counterparts.<\/p>\n
Differences in genetics alone do not explain these inequalities, but the historic lack of representation of South Asians and Black populations in genetic research means MS may be under-recognised, diagnosed later, or assessed less accurately in these groups. It also means there is less certainty that genetic risk tools, and potentially treatments developed using\u00a0European-focused data, perform equally well for everyone. This study shows how\u00a0a more representative scientific approach can improve\u00a0understanding\u00a0of the disease and help close these gaps over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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MS genetics has, until now, been overwhelmingly based on people of European ancestry. This study shows that while many of the biological pathways driving MS are shared, leaving large parts of the global population out of research limits our understanding of the disease. Better representation is not only\u00a0a fairness issue, but it also leads to better science.”<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\nRuth Dobson, Study Lead Author and Professor, Clinical Neurology, Queen Mary\u00a0University of London<\/p>\n
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Dr\u00a0Benjamin\u00a0Jacobs, Clinical Lecturer in Neurology at Queen Mary\u00a0University of London\u00a0and co-author on the study, said:\u00a0“This work\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0why diversity matters in genetics. When studies only include one ancestral group, they miss important insights. By broadening\u00a0participation, we can\u00a0sharpen our understanding of MS, find risk factors that would otherwise stay hidden, and build prediction tools that work for everyone.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caitlin Astbury, Senior Research Communications Manager at the MS Society, said:\u202f”Over 150,000 people live with MS in the UK, and the condition can affect all communities, ages, ethnic\u202fbackgrounds\u202fand genders. MS is likely to be caused by a combination of factors, including lifestyle, environment, and genetics. But\u202falmost everything\u202fwe know about genes and MS comes from studies looking at people of White European descent. Making sure we include people from diverse backgrounds in research is key and the ADAMS study is leading the way. Research like this is vital to ensure that progress in MS treatments, diagnosis, and risk prediction benefits everyone.”\u202f<\/p>\n
The authors note that this disparity reflects the European-dominant data used to develop these tools and\u00a0highlights why\u00a0broader representation\u00a0is\u00a0importantfor\u00a0equitable\u00a0predictive genetics.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
Queen Mary University of London<\/a><\/p>\n
Journal reference:<\/p>\n