There are about 6 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Greenland. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
The goal of this study is to investigate to what extent a 12-week training course for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or MODY can be conducted in a clinical context with clinically relevant improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors and quality of life? The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. To investigate the feasibility of supervised training for people with T2DM or MODY in a clinical context in Greenland. 2. To investigate evidence of the effect of combined aerobic and strength training on cardiometabolic risk factors and mental well-being. 3. To investigate the signs of efficacy and different interactions with the type of disease.
Around 10% has type 2 diabetes in Greenland, despite being a practically unknown disease only six decades ago. The drastic increase is of great concern, especially considering the transition that have occurred during the same decades going from a fisher-hunter lifestyle towards a more western lifestyle. Today, traditional marine foods are still increasingly being replaced by imported foods high in refined sugar (sucrose) and starch. Furthermore, recent studies discovered that the Greenlandic population harbors a different genetic architecture behind type 2 diabetes. Hence, obtaining more knowledge on interactions between lifestyle, genetics, and metabolism is therefore crucial in order to ameliorate the growing curve, or maybe even turn it around. Sucrose intolerance is in general rare; however, it is a common condition in Greenland and other Inuit populations. Here it is caused by a genetic variant in the sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene, resulting in complete loss of enzyme function and hence an inability to digest sucrose and some of the glycosidic bonds in starch, both carbohydrates that are not part of the traditional Inuit diet. A recent, unpublished study found the variant to be associated with lower BMI, body fat percentage, bodyweight, and lipid levels independent of the lower intake of refined sugar. This might be explained by differences in the metabolism of carbohydrates and in the gut microbiota. The healthier phenotype was confirmed by a SI knockout mouse model, which furthermore interestingly indicated that the variant might alter food and taste preferences. It is anticipated that the drastic increase in type 2 diabetes in Greenland can be explained at least partly by the complex interaction between lifestyle and genetics. Therefore, the aim is to investigate if metabolic and microbial differences can explain the healthier phenotype of the homozygous carriers of the SI variant than wildtype individuals amd perform a 3-day cross-over dietary intervention using assigning subjects to a traditional Greenlandic diet and a Western diet. Moreover, the aim is to assess whether their food and taste preferences are different. The study will help us to understand the complex interactions between lifestyle, behavior, genetics, the microbiota and the host metabolism.
The study is a phd-study comprising several substudies focusing on cardiac arrhythmias, mainly atrial fibrillation, among Greenlanders in Greenland. Some previous studies have indicated that the prevalence may be lower than among Westerners, however; studies have also indicated that atrial fibrillation is underdiagnosed. These studies aim to: - Estimate the prevalence of AF among Greenlanders in Greenland aged 55 years or older. - Estimate the prevalence of well-known risk factors among those found to have AF - Explore the symptoms of those affected by AF in Greenland - Among part of the participants: estimate the prevalence of autonomic neuropathy as this may cause arrhythmias.