Minority Women Have a Higher Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Ethnicity, obesity, and risk of type 2 diabetes in women: a 20-year follow-up study, by I. Shai and colleagues. Diabetes Care 29:1585,1590, 2006.
What is the problem and what is known about it so far?
Type 2 diabetes is more common in black and Hispanic populations than in white populations.
Why did the researchers do this particular study?
The researchers wanted to look at how common type 2 diabetes was in women of different ethnicities, after accounting for diet and lifestyle factors.
Who was studied?
More than 78,000 healthy women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study.
How was the study done?
The Nurses’ Health Study started in 1976. Registered nurses who were between 30 and 55 years old were sent questionnaires every 2 years about their medical history and lifestyle.
What did the researchers find?
The risk for getting diabetes is much higher among Asian, Hispanic, and black women than among white women. The risk increases with weight gain for all ethnicities; again, this increased risk is greater among Asian, Hispanic, and black women. Asian women are at the greatest risk for getting diabetes after gaining weight.
Women who ate a healthy diet high in cereal fiber and polyunsaturated fat and low in trans fat and glycemic load was more strongly associated with a lower risk of diabetes.
What are the limitations of the study?
The researchers had no information about specific countries of origin or how long the women had lived in the U.S., and the most of the women in this study were white.
What are the implications of the study?
In this study, Asians, Hispanics, and black women were had a higher risk for getting diabetes than white women. The risk increased as the women gained weight, especially among Asian women. This suggests that lower target weight levels might be needed for Asian women.
This study also reinforced the importance of maintaining a healthy diet to lower one’s risk for getting type 2 diabetes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Diabetes
Latino Health Web Sites
African Americans and Diabetes
Diabetes and Metabolic Health
Specific Types of Fat
