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International study examines link between ethnicity and type 2 diabetes

09.10.2012

Data from the Southall and Brent Revisited Study, a British research project, show that 50 percent of English people whose lineages are South Asian, African or African Caribbean will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. These results have been published in the latest edition of Diabetes Care.

Type 2 diabetes requires daily insulin injections, and if these are not administered, individuals with the condition could require immediate care from emergency department physicians.

This research commenced in 1988, and focused on British residents between 40 and 69 years old. Only 20 percent of the Brits in the study with no South Asian, African or Caribbean ancestry ended up coping with insulin deficiency, as opposed to the substantially higher percentage of individuals from those ethnic backgrounds. Although obesity and overweight are noted as factors in increasing the risk of diabetes, the researchers note that this is only a partial explanation for the ethnic discrepancy, and more surveys and experiments need to be done.

"This study suggests the higher rate of diabetes - a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes - in some South Asian and African Caribbean women is due to increased levels of obesity, particularly the buildup of fat around the waist, and higher resistance to insulin, which helps the body process sugar," said Helene Wilson, research advisor at the British Heart Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 150,000 American children and teenagers have the condition, and that 10 percent of American Caucasians and nearly 20 percent of black Americans have the ailment.

Categories: Health and Wellness