We want to change the story for Black, Black African and Black Caribbean people in the UK when it comes to health.
Black Health Legacy will research medical problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease which affect Black communities disproportionately. In the future, Black Health Legacy will expand to study other health conditions that are prioritised by our Community Advisory Board.
Hidden genetic risk could delay diabetes diagnosis for thousands of Black men
In September 2025, the Black Health Legacy team published important research on a common and silent genetic condition that is causing delays in type 2 diabetes diagnoses and increasing the risk of serious complications for thousands of Black men in the UK – and potentially millions worldwide.
This research, conducted by our teams at University of Exeter and Queen Mary University of London found around one in seven Black in the UK carry a minor change in a gene called G6PD, leading to something called G6PD deficiency. Most people with G6PD deficiency do not know they have it as it rarely causes symptoms and is not routinely tested for by the NHS.
But, men with G6PD deficiency are, on average, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes four years later than those without the gene change. This is because the HbA1c blood test, which the NHS and many other countries use to diagnose and monitor diabetes, underestimates a person’s blood sugar levels if they have G6PD deficiency. This means the the HbA1c blood test appears artificially low, and this can mislead doctors and patients, resulting in delayed diabetes diagnosis and treatment. We found that these led to a 37 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes-related microvascular complications, such as eye, kidney and nerve damage, compared to other men with diabetes. This work was published in a scientific journal and covered widely by the press, and you can read it here.
Black Health Legacy will research this issue further, and will also tackling other problems with how we prevent, diagnose or treat diseases that disproportionately affect people from Black backgrounds. Our research will help future generations, saving lives and tackling long-standing inequalities in our healthcare system.
Watch this space for more coverage of our research questions and findings.
