Nishi Chaturvedi is a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Her research considers how ethnicity and lifestyle impact people's risk factors for disease. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Chaturvedi explained that the increased mortality rate for people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds was due to societal inequality and how this intersects with healthcare.

Early life and education

Chaturvedi studied medicine at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and graduated in 1985. She specialised in public health and epidemiology, and completed a medical doctorate at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust studying

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

communities. Chaturvedi was a postdoctoral research associate at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where she worked in the Department of Epidemiology.

Research and career

In 2000 Chaturvedi was appointed Chair of Clinical Epidemiology in the National Heart and Lung Institute. She returned to University College London as Chair in Epidemiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in 2014. Chaturvedi studies the mechanisms of disease and modes of prevention of cardiovascular disease, with a focus on minority ethnic communities in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. She leads the Southall and Brent REvisited (SABRE) study, which has monitored the health of a 5,000 person cohort of Europeans, South Asians and African Caribbeans in London for over twenty years. SABRE started in 1988, when the first generation of

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

and African Caribbeans in the United Kingdom were approaching middle-age. It investigated the risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease amongst participants, and helped to inform medical guidelines. Chaturvedi showed that the high levels of

only started when migrants moved from the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

to the United Kingdom; meaning that these levels were due to lifestyle, rather than genetic selection. In 2008, Chaturvedi re-visited the study, analysing how the health of the original cohort had changed over time. In 2012 the SABRE study observed that by the age of eighty, twice as many South Asians and African Caribbeans members of the cohort had developed diabetes compared to the European group. Whilst a risk factor for diabetes in family history, Chaturvedi explained that this alone could not explain the overrepresentation of diabetes amongst South Asian and African Caribbean populations. Instead, SABRE showed that healthy eating and an active lifestyle was crucial in avoiding risk of disease (in particular heart disease and

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

). She went on to study the evolution of HBA1c, a modified form of Haemoglobin A1c, changed as Type 2 diabetes progressed, and how this progression might be related to gender and ethnicity. Chaturvedi made use of data from the UK Biobank to monitor how levels of HBA1c are related to other long-term conditions, including dementia and cancer, as well as how these complications may be linked to ethnicity or gender. Chaturvedi is part of the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a worldwide network of medical researchers that look to better understand risk factors in different countries. During the

, it emerged that in the UK, people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were disproportionately suffering from COVID-19. Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Chaturvedi explained that could be due to several reasons, including that the United Kingdom's outbreak of COVID-19 started in London, the most diverse city in the country, and that co-morbidities (e.g. conditions such as

) could be significant prognostic factors. Ultimately, Chaturvedi argued that healthcare inequality, and the close relationship between socio-economic status and clinical outcome in the UK, was contributing to the increased mortality rates for people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Ethnic minorities are more likely to be employed in 'essential' high-risk sectors, including transport and healthcare, and live in multi-generational, densely populated households. She explained that the differences in clinical outcome for people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds was not due to genetics; “Ethnicity is a complex socio-cultural construct, it’s not a biology construct. There’s no gene for being Asian. There’s no gene for being black,”. She developed a survey for members of the SABRE cohort to better understand the prevalence of coronavirus disease and its impact on black and minority ethnic communities. Chaturvedi was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to medical research.

Selected publications

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References

External links

Nishi Chaturvedi
at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaturvedi, Nishi Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of London Academics of the University of London British women epidemiologists COVID-19 researchers British women scientists Officers of the Order of the British Empire