How Does Your Cultural Background Affect Longevity

How does my cultural background affect my health/ longevity.) (What diseases am I susceptible to?)

When I first started doing research, I decided I would break this paper up by my different backgrounds. I am Irish, English, French, Dutch, Japanese, and Native American. I’ll start with Irish. I searched, and searched, until I found a disease called Hemochromatosis. Also known as “The Celtic Curse,” “85% of all peoples of Irish descent have Hemochromatosis.” (Dougher, "Irish in the Blood") This disease is not just targeting the Irish, but many with some some sort of celtic descent. “While no one is immune to hemochromatosis, those with Irish, Scottish or British heritage have a significantly higher chance of carrying the gene mutation that
may cause them to develop the potentially deadly disorder.”(Dougher, "Irish in the Blood").
Here are some statistics according to the article about this disease. “1 out of every 200 people of other descent have homozygous hemochromatosis.” (Dougher, “Irish in the Blood”) the Mayo Clinic explains this disease saying, it “ causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. Excess iron is stored in your organs, especially your liver, heart and pancreas.” Too much iron can lead to life threatening disease such as problems with you heart lung liver and pancreas. Another common disease common among the Irish, and those of Celtic descent, is Celiac disease. “Celiac Disease, like lactose intolerance, has a genetic component and is related to the ingestion of specific foods.” ( CRONIN, CORNELIUS C., and FERGUS SHANAHAN. "WHY IS CELIAC DISEASE SO COMMON IN IRELAND?") These “specific foods,” are in their diet. This includes Barley, wheat, rye, etc; all containing gluten. Celiac disease (gluten sensitive enteropathy) is a condition of the small bowel, characterized by permanent intolerance to dietary gluten and by intestinal mucosal damage (Trier 1991; Marsh 1992; Goggins and Kelleher 1994). The most common symptoms
of celiac disease are problems with gastrointestinal function, most typically diarrhea and malabsorption.
Let’s talk about the French now.
I don’t know what kind of French I am specifically/, however, there is a disease common in the French. cord.nch-Canadian population called Tay-Sachs. “The mutations responsible for this disease are also more common in certain French-Canadian communities of Quebec.” That is according to Genetics Home Reference. An online database for genetic diseases and disorders. GHR also says, “Tay-Sachs disease is a rare inherited disorder that progressively destroys nerve cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord.” The symptoms become very clear in infants after a few months. “The most common form of Tay-Sachs disease becomes apparent in infancy. Infants with this disorder typically appear normal until the age of 3 to 6 months, when their development slows and muscles used for movement weaken. Affected infants lose motor skills such as turning over, sitting, and crawling. They also develop an exaggerated startle reaction to loud noises. As the disease progresses, children with Tay-Sachs disease experience seizures, vision and hearing loss, intellectual disability, and paralysis. An eye abnormality called a cherry-red spot, which can be identified with an eye examination, is characteristic of this disorder. Children with this severe infantile form of Tay-Sachs disease usually live only into early childhood.” ("Tay-Sachs Disease." Genetics Home Reference. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. ) According to this same article, “Other forms of Tay-Sachs disease
are very rare. Signs and symptoms can appear in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood and are usually milder than those seen with the infantile form. Characteristic features include muscle weakness, loss of muscle coordination (ataxia) and other problems with movement, speech problems, and mental illness. These signs and symptoms vary widely among people with late-onset forms of Tay-Sachs disease.” Another disease, is Mednik Syndrome. Mednik Syndrome is a defect of copper metabolism. This means, that there is “a mutation in the AP1S1 gene encoding the small subunit sigma1A of the AP-1 complex” according to Dr. Matthew Fickie, MD of Mount Auburn Hospital. Dr. Fickie told me of another disease that is common in the Southern Regions of France, known as Thalassemia; a blood disease. Dr. Fickie explained this saying, “ it is an inherited blood disorder characterized by less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells in your body than normal. Several types of thalassemia exist, including alpha-thalassemia, beta-thalassemia intermedia, Cooley's anemia and Mediterranean anemia.” He continued to say, Hemoglobin is the substance in your red blood cells that allows them to carry oxygen. The low hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells of thalassemia may cause anemia, leaving you fatigued.
If you have mild thalassemia, you may not need treatment. But, if you have a more severe form of thalassemia, you may need regular blood transfusions. You can also take steps on your own to cope with fatigue, such as choosing a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

As for the English, Fickie said that, “The Irish and English, are more or less the same when it comes to genetic diseases and disorders. Because of the mixing of the population of the Irish and English, the disease that are common in the English, are often common in the Irish.”
When I asked Dr. Matthew Fickie about the Dutch, he began talking about Founders Mutation. “Founder BRCA1/2 is what makes Breast and Ovarian cancer common." he also said, “Many genetic disorders demonstrate mutations that can be traced to a founder, sometimes a person who can be identified. These founder mutations have generated considerable interest, because they facilitate studies of prevalence and penetrance and can be used to quantify the degree of homogeneity within a population.” Dr. Fickie explained the history of this mutation to me. “International migration, regional and religious endogamy, and rapid population growth played key roles in shaping the Dutch population. In the first millenniums BC and AD, the Netherlands were invaded by Celts, Romans, Huns, and Germans. In more recent times, large numbers of Huguenots and Germans migrated into the Netherlands. Population growth within the Netherlands was slow until the 19th century, when a period of rapid population growth started. Today, the Dutch population numbers 16 million inhabitants. Several different classes of founder mutations have been identified among the Dutch. Some mutations occur among people who represent genetic isolates within this country.” He went on to say, “These include mutations for benign familial cholestasis, diabetes mellitus, type I, infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, L-DOPA responsive dystonia, and triphalangeal thumb. Although not related to a specific isolate, other founder mutations were identified only within the Netherlands, including those predisposing for hereditary breast-ovarian cancer, familial hypercholesterolemia, frontotemporal dementia, hereditary paragangliomas, juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, malignant melanoma, protein C deficiency, and Sanfilippo disease. Many of these show a regional distribution, suggesting dissemination from a founder.” When I asked him about Native Americans, he told me, “little research has been done on the Native American population, regarding genetic disorders and diseases. So, not much is known.”