Genes may be key to poor health in Aborigines.

Australian Aborigines have differences in a few immune genes that might explain why they suffer such high rates of certain medical problems. Research shows that Aborigines are much more likely to have gene variants thought to increase the expression of the pro-inflammatory immune signaling protein IL-1 and decrease expression of IL-10, which shuts down IL-1 production. Whether having these genes actually translates into higher levels of IL-1 has yet to be investigated. But Aborigines suffer much higher rates of a number of diseases compared with white Australians.