Why are Indians more susceptible to developing rare genetic diseases?

When talking about genetic diseases rare, it is common for an eastern country to appear on the list. One such country is India, where the population is more susceptible to the appearance of genetic anomalies. Want to know why? Read on.

What is the root problem of genetic diseases in Indians?

According to the Ministry of Health Indian, the number of people with genetic diseases considered rare in the country is over eight million. The conditions, however, are diverse and harbor more than five thousand different types of diseases.

For researchers, the reason why the population of India is more susceptible to the development of genetic diseases rare is the practice of endogamous marriages, between members of the same community, with or without a relationship of kinship.

According to Thangaraj, a specialist in genetics, when the cause of a genetic mutation is recessive, that is, it manifests itself in the absence of a dominant gene, transmission takes place over generations and appears even in members of the same community who are not relatives.

Today, the scientific community knows that Indian populations located in the southern region of the Asian continent are more susceptible to the development of rare genetic diseases.

The Indian government does not pay due attention to disease control

In India, the government pays little attention to the case, as it affects a small portion of the population. In addition, the lack of financial resources and medical equipment also makes it difficult to control the development of rare genetic diseases.

There was even the development of a National Policy on Rare Diseases in 2017, however, even with revisions in the following years, there were no concrete results to control the problem.

Worldwide, more than 350 million people are affected by genetic diseases. Because it is a small contingent, the budget allocated to research and treatment is usually difficult to obtaining, as is the case in India, where thousands suffer from a precarious public health system.