Dietary ompatterns, microbiome, metabole and cardiovascular disease risk in transitioning India

A growing number of people living in India are suffering from heart disease. Many researchers think that this is because of changes in diet (from traditional diets rich in cereals to western diets rich in sugars, fats and meat products) that occur when countries develop economically. The dietary changes in India appear to be different from other developing countries due to a strong cultural preference for vegetarian food.

Therefore, our goal is to understand how dietary changes in India may be influencing the risk of heart disease. We are particularly interested in the role of bacteria that usually live harmlessly in our gut, as new research suggests their involvement in many health conditions.

For nearly two decades, we have been conducting health-related research in 29 villages on the edge of Hyderabad city in South India. Over the past decade, these villages have undergone rapid uneven development providing a unique opportunity to understand the health effects of dietary changes. In 2010-12, we collected data on diet and heart health of ~7,000 individuals from this community.

We now plan to collect similar data on these individuals, including their blood and stool samples. We will use state-of-the-art technologies to identify the patterns of small molecules in the blood (i.e. metabolomics) and bacteria in the gut (i.e. microbiome). We will then analyse the data to understand how dietary patterns and gut bacteria may influence the risk of heart disease at a deeper (molecular) level.

Findings from this research will inform dietary guidelines and food policy in India, and ultimately lead to a reduction in economic loss to the country from heart disease.