EuroDHYAN: Innovative Prevention Strategies for type 2 Diabetes in South Asians Living in Europe
South Asian populations living in Europe have an extremely high risk of type 2 diabetes. More than 5 million people of South Asian origin live in Europe. Half of this population is likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Moreover, the onset of diabetes occurs at younger ages and lower body weights in South Asians than white Europeans, and the associated adverse cardiovascular and microvascular consequences of the disease are greater.
The need to halt this epidemic among these populations is a public health priority in many European countries in order to achieve longer healthy life and avoid increase of health care costs.
The evidence base for effective prevention in South Asians is still limited. A small number of recently conducted lifestyle intervention trials have given important insights into how to reduce type 2 diabetes risk in South Asians with pre-diabetes. Overall, their effectiveness seems to be lower than observed in European origin populations.
EuroDHYAN will be a coordinated effort from researchers in three countries to target the excessive risk for type 2 diabetes in South Asian populations in Europe. The results will considerably advance our ability to address this major health challenge.
The ultimate aim of EuroDHYAN is to enable the development of novel and targeted health promotion strategies to effectively reduce the risk of T2D in South Asian populations in Europe.