UK Biobank News and Research

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Genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon identified

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare Research Institute (PHURI) and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified the genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon. Their findings, published today (12 October) in Nature Communications, could lead to the first effective treatments for people with Raynaud’s.

12 Oct 2023

Study identifies pathways explaining racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities in dementia

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 18, entitled, "Pathways explaining racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities in dementia incidence: the UK Biobank study."

11 Oct 2023

Is your DNA steering you towards a vegetarian diet?

Researchers using the UK Biobank identified genetic markers linked to strict vegetarianism, revealing potential connections between vegetarianism, lipid metabolism, and brain activity. The study highlighted genes, particularly those active in the brain and related to cholesterol movement, as influential in an individual's inclination towards a vegetarian lifestyle.

9 Oct 2023

Machine learning can simplify lung cancer screening process

Machine learning models to identify the simplest way to screen for lung cancer have been developed by researchers from UCL and the University of Cambridge, bringing personalized screening one step closer.

6 Oct 2023

Genetics may influence a person’s ability to adhere to a vegetarian diet

From Impossible Burger to "Meatless Mondays," going meat-free is certainly in vogue. But a person's genetic makeup plays a role in determining whether they can stick to a strict vegetarian diet, a new Northwestern Medicine study has found.

4 Oct 2023

New insights into how smoking influences certain metabolites to increase type 2 diabetes risk

New research being presented at this year's Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Hamburg (2-6 Oct) finds that cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in part by affecting a variety of metabolites-;small chemicals produced in the processes of metabolism-;that circulate in the bloodstream.

3 Oct 2023

Type 2 diabetes at age 30 linked to shorter life expectancy

An individual diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 30 years could see their life expectancy fall by as much as 14 years, an international team of researchers has warned.

3 Oct 2023

Machine learning model can identify who needs lung cancer screening

A machine learning model equipped with only data on people's age, smoking duration and the number of cigarettes smoked per day can predict lung cancer risk and identify who needs lung cancer screening, according to a new study publishing October 3rd in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Thomas Callender of University College London, UK, and colleagues.

3 Oct 2023

A better method to predict polygenic inheritance across multiple ancestries

Researchers report the results obtained from the use of a new PRS calculator called CT-SLEB on a multi-national GWAS database.

2 Oct 2023

Study shows consanguinity may raise risk of type 2 diabetes and other common diseases

A new study finds that consanguinity – unions between close relatives – may increase the risk of common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

30 Sep 2023

Short bouts of incidental activity linked to health benefits

A new wearables study tracking over 25,000 people provides the best evidence yet that short bouts of incidental activity, the kind we do as part of daily living, could reduce risk of heart attack, stroke and even premature death – but the length of activity and intensity matters.

29 Sep 2023

Stair climbing linked to reduced risk of heart disease, study finds

Forget walking 10,000 steps a day. Taking at least 50 steps climbing stairs each day could significantly slash your risk of heart disease, according to a new study from Tulane University.

29 Sep 2023

New research uncovers autozygosity's impact on common disease risks

Researchers explored the associations between autozygosity, measured as the fraction of the genome in runs of homozygosity (FROH), and common diseases, focusing on populations with high consanguinity rates.

29 Sep 2023

Machine learning-based models can predict diabetes incidence across several ethnicities

Predicting diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) incidence and prevalence across differing ethnicities.

27 Sep 2023

Unions between close relatives may increase the risk of common diseases, study finds

A new study finds that consanguinity – unions between close relatives - may increase the risk of common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

26 Sep 2023

New method for multiancestry polygenic prediction holds promise for reducing health care disparities

A team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Cancer Institute has developed a new algorithm for genetic risk-scoring for major diseases across diverse ancestry populations that holds promise for reducing health care disparities.

25 Sep 2023

Rare genetic variants involved in male-pattern hair loss identified

A receding hairline, a total loss of hair from the crown, and ultimately, the classical horseshoe-shaped pattern of baldness: Previous research into male pattern hair loss, also termed androgenetic alopecia, has implicated multiple common genetic variants.

22 Sep 2023

Researchers identifiy the genetic background of dilated cardiomyopathy

Researchers have made a significant finding in determining the genetic background of dilated cardiomyopathy in Dobermanns.

22 Sep 2023

Is morning exercise the key to dodging diabetes?

Harvard researchers find that morning and afternoon physical activity significantly lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but evening activity shows no such benefit. The study also emphasizes that intensity matters more than consistency in reducing diabetes risk.

21 Sep 2023

Can a plant-based diet lower your risk of Parkinson's disease?

A recent study in the journal Movement Disorders examined the association between plant-based diets and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk, using data from 126,283 UK Biobank participants. The research found that those in the highest quartile for healthful plant-based diet indices (hPDI) had a 22% lower risk of PD, while unhealthful plant-based diets (uPDI) correlated with a 38% higher risk.

19 Sep 2023