Because ethnicity and race can cause genetic predisposition for certain diseases or medical conditions, it’s important to be aware of your own personal disease risks.

Examples include a greater prevalence among African Americans for sickle cell disease and among Caucasians for cystic fibrosis. Diseases such as thalassemia and Tay- Sachs are also genetically linked—in the case of Tay-Sachs, to the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and for thalassemia, to individuals of Mediterranean, Asian, Chinese or African descent. However, different populations also have higher incidences of common diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

“People from the Indian subcontinent tend to have a higher prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol as compared to Caucasians,” says Nasir Shaikh, MD, who is board certified in family medicine. “However, many factors play into an individual’s overall health and well being, not just genetics, so it’s important to keep in mind that a diet and lifestyle can offset—or, conversely, negatively affect—these genetic factors.”

Ron Suzuki, MD, a family medicine practitioner, believes lifestyle factors play a significant role in disease.

“It’s difficult to make a blanket statement about diseases by ethnicity without considering lifestyle and diet. There are so many variables, including gender, cultural norms and where a person lives,” Dr. Suzuki says.

Taking an Active Role

Knowing whether your ethnicity may predispose you to certain diseases is an important component of managing your health. Paying attention to all the risk factors that may contribute to the development of certain diseases is key.

“If you know that you have a higher likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease, you’ll want to limit foods that would contribute to hypertension and cholesterol,” says Dr. Shaikh.

Prevention is the first line of defense, but screening and early intervention can also make all the difference. Says Dr. Suzuki, “Together with your primary care physician, you should also be diligent about monitoring important disease indicators like blood pressure, blood sugar and lipid levels like cholesterol and triglycerides.”

Open communication with your primary physician, healthy habits and regular surveillance can help prevent or manage diseases that you may otherwise have been genetically “programmed” to develop.

For assistance finding a physician affiliated with Princeton HealthCare System, call 1.888.PHCS4YOU (1.888.742.7496) or visit www.princetonhcs.org.