Ethnicity-Based Variations in Type 2 Diabetes Risk

HealthDay News — The risk of developing type 2 diabetes associated with body mass index (BMI) varies between ethnic groups, according to a study published online in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Sanjoy K. Paul, PhD, from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues examined the probability of developing T2DM in a case-control study involving 90,367 patients with incident diabetes and 362,548 age-, sex-, ethnicity-matched controls from UK primary care.

The researchers found that, compared with matched controls, patients with type 2 diabetes had significantly higher mean BMI level at diagnosis (32.2 vs 27.4 kg/m²). At diagnosis, white Europeans, African-Caribbeans, and South Asians were age 58, 48, and 46 years old, with mean BMI of 32.5, 31.1, and 29.2 kg/m², respectively. Compared with White Europeans and African-Caribbeans, more South Asians developed type 2 diabetes at BMI below 30 kg/m² (38% vs 26% and 29%, respectively; all P <.01). Compared with White Europeans and African-Caribbeans, South Asian males and females age 18 to 70 years had significantly higher probability of developing diabetes with a BMI from 18 to 30 kg/m². Compared with White Europeans, South Asians and African-Caribbeans had significantly higher probability of developing type 2 diabetes in the normal-weight and overweight categories for those age <70 years; the risk pattern was reversed among obese individuals.

“Risk patterns of developing diabetes at different levels of obesity varies between ethnic groups across all age groups,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Reference

Paul SK, Owusu ES, Samanta M, et al. Comparison of body mass index at diagnosis of diabetes in a multiethnic population: a case-control study with matched non-diabetic controls [published online February 17, 2017]. Diabetes Obes Metab. doi: 10.1111/dom.12915