A NEW study has revealed that those with roots to the Outer Hebrides and Ireland have the highest risk of developing a potential cancer-causing genetic disease.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have also identified instances of haemochromatosis across the UK and Ireland.
Also known as the “Celtic Curse” due to its impact on those with roots in Scotland and Ireland, haemochromatosis leads to an iron-overload in the human body, possibly damaging vital organs.
Professor Jim Flett Wilson, chair of human genetics at the Ulster Institute, said: “If untreated, the iron-overload disease haemochromatosis can lead to liver cancer, arthritis and other poor outcomes.
“We have shown that the risk in the Hebrides and Northern Ireland is much higher than previously thought, with about one in every 60 people at risk, about half of whom will develop the disease.
“Early detection prevents most of the adverse consequences and a simple treatment – giving blood – is available.
“The time has come to plan for community-wide genetic screening in these high-risk areas, to identify as many people as possible whose genes mean they are at high risk of this preventable illness.”
The condition is caused by small changes in DNA, specifically the genetic variant called C282Y.
Researchers on the study found that those from the northwest of Ireland were most likely to develop the condition, with one in 54 people estimated carry the genetic variant.
Those from the Outer Hebrides are second most likely with one in 62, followed by those from Northern Ireland with one in 71.
One in 117 people from mainland Scotland—particularly Glasgow and southwest Scotland—are at risk of carrying the condition.
For the rest of the UK, diagnosis rates varied depending on location. Those from Liverpool were 11 times more likely to have a diagnosis than those from Kent, a trend which is likely associated with significant Irish immigration to the city in the 19th century.
Torcuil Crichton, the Labour MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (the Western Isles), has haemochromatosis and has called for community screening for its genetic variants in the Western Isles.
He said: “If untreated, the iron-overload disease haemochromatosis can lead to liver cancer, arthritis and other poor outcomes.
“We have shown that the risk in the Hebrides and Northern Ireland is much higher than previously thought, with about one in every 60 people at risk, about half of whom will develop the disease.
“Early detection prevents most of the adverse consequences and a simple treatment – giving blood – is available.
“The time has come to plan for community-wide genetic screening in these high-risk areas, to identify as many people as possible whose genes mean they are at high risk of this preventable illness.”
