South Asians (born in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan) living in the US are at a much higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes compared to the other Asian immigrants, revealed a study led study author, Swapnil Rajpathak, M.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology and population health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Study:
Data from the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted in 2004, were studied to evaluate different racial and ethnic groups for risk factors relating to heart disease and metabolic disorders such as diabetes. The researchers studied the fasting glucose levels from 1,324 respondents.
Results:
The findings of the study appear in the latest issue of the journal Ethnicity & Disease. Swapnil Rajpathak said, "In addition to cultural and lifestyle factors, Asians subgroups are also different in terms of their genetic makeup. He added, "Immigrants may experience dramatic changes in their diet and physical activity after moving to this country. Given their higher genetic susceptibility, unfavorable changes in lifestyle factors may increase the risk of diabetes."
The variations found contribute to the inequality in Diabetes risk between whites and Asians overall, as well as between South Asians and Asians from other countries.
South Asians were found to have the highest prevalence of Diabetes at 35.4%, compared with 16.1% for all Asians and 10.8% for whites.
Vivian Fonseca, M.D., vice president of the American Diabetes Association and chief of endocrinology at Tulane University Health Sciences Center, said, in general, "Asians get insulin resistance and increased risk of diabetes and heart disease at a much lower level of obesity than Caucasians.”
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