8 new studies given access to Our Future Health data
This month, the number of studies using Our Future Health’s data has risen to 89 – with 8 new research teams now approved to start work.
Covering a wide range of conditions, the findings from these studies could be transformational. Let’s look at the questions they’re asking, and the discoveries they hope to make.
What’s the link between night shifts and asthma?
People who work nights are more likely to develop asthma. But what’s the reason? And why are women at more risk?
To answer these questions, researchers from the University of Manchester plan to cross-reference the prevalence of new cases of asthma in shift workers across age, sex, and ethnicity.
They are also documenting the number of new asthma cases in women shift workers who are taking the contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT). There is growing evidence to suggest a link between asthma prevalence and external hormone treatments, so the team aims to add to the body of evidence.
They hope their findings will lead to changes in asthma guidelines, and better asthma care for shift workers, particularly women.
A focus on maternal health
Pregnancy and birth complications are all too common. This study aims to identify women at higher risk from pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, miscarriage, and premature birth by combining genetic information, health measurements, and medical records from Our Future Health participants.
The researchers from the University of Bristol are looking at how health before pregnancy affects maternal outcomes. They are also investigating the long-term health effects of pregnancy complications on both women and children, such as heart disease, dementia, and mental health conditions.
Together, these findings could help develop safer and more effective treatments for pregnancy-related conditions.
Zoning in on skin conditions
Skin conditions affect a third of the world’s population. And this study from King’s College London is looking at how DNA can trigger skin disease, as well as examining the role ethnicity and environment play.
By using Our Future Health’s data to develop risk scores, the researchers hope their study will help dermatologists to predict which patients are likely to develop severe symptoms so they can prescribe the most suitable treatments.
The link between mind and matter
Research from the University of Edinburgh is examining how physical health issues, such as inflammation and metabolic changes, can influence outcomes for people with depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Researchers are also looking at the part played by stressful life events in triggering serious mental health conditions.
Identifying and targeting these different mechanisms could reduce the burden of psychological illnesses and lead to better treatments and interventions for people struggling with their mental health.
Read the study summary here
Digging deep into depression
Another study from the University of Edinburgh is using Our Future Health’s data to unpick the causes of depression, which now affects more than 300 million people worldwide.
By analysing how genetic and environmental factors influence the risk of depression, the study hopes to determine whether physical health issues, substance abuse, and deprivation cause depression or result from it.
If the researchers can uncover potentially preventable causes of depression, this research could reduce the burden it places on people’s lives.
Predicting heart disease in Asian communities
People from Asian backgrounds are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) at an earlier age than White or Black people. They also have worse outcomes.
Previous population-wide prediction models haven’t fully represented Asian communities, which means medical interventions haven’t always been designed for them. The aim of this pilot study is to create a fairer healthcare system, and to protect those most at risk from CVD.
Researchers from the University of Manchester are testing a prediction model that is being specifically designed for British Asian communities.
They will assess whether the machine learning tool is able to predict someone’s risk of having a stroke or a heart attack over a 2-year period.
Fairer diagnosis for diabetes
Diabetes is one of the world’s biggest health challenges. Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard want to understand how rare gene changes can affect someone’s risk of developing the condition.
The study will benefit from working with Our Future Health’s diverse cohort, as these gene changes are more likely to be missed in people from non-European backgrounds.
The researchers hope their work will improve the diagnosis of all types of diabetes, and lead to more targeted treatments.
Blood clotting and disease
The focus of this study is to understand the gene behind a rare blood condition called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), which interferes with normal blood clotting and can cause serious harm to the brain, heart, and kidneys.
The researchers from University College London want to focus in on Black people as they are more likely to have TTP.
Because the same gene affects clotting in everyone, regardless of ethnicity, their findings could provide vital information on risks for stroke and heart disease.