Adiposity and physical activity as risk factors for cardio-metabolic diseases in ethnically diverse cohort

Population-based cohorts have identified major modifiable risk factors for cardio-metabolic diseases, such as adiposity and physical activity, but the patterns and relevance of these factors varies greatly across populations, and previous evidence is predominantly from high-income countries. There is a high burden of cardio-metabolic diseases in South and Southeast Asian populations. However, the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated, with previous evidence suggesting ethnically divergent body fat and muscle mass distribution to be a determining factor. Furthermore, physical activity has a complex relationship with body composition, and different patterns of physical activity between high- and low-/middle-income countries and between urban and rural areas might be an independent or explanatory factor in associations with cardio-metabolic diseases.

The objectives of this DPhil project may be to explore associations between different measures of body composition with objective measures of physical activity between populations and their individual and joint associations with cardio-metabolic diseases across different ethnicities, using data from different large-scale prospective studies. 

This project will use data from three large prospective studies: the Indian Study of Healthy Ageing (ISHA), the Malaysian Cohort, and the South and Southeast Asian participants of the UK Biobank. It will provide unique opportunity for novel insights into disease risks and aetiology to inform global non-communicable disease control and prevention efforts, and the student will have the chance to work collaboratively across the Global Populations Studies Group led by Prof Sarah Lewington, the Oxford Wearables group led by Prof Aiden Doherty, and the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism led by Prof Fredrik Karpe.