The American journal of the medical sciences
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Comparative Study
Decreased insulin-mediated but not non-insulin-dependent glucose disposal rates in glucose intolerance and type II diabetes in African (Ghanaian) immigrants.
The authors evaluated the significance of beta cell function, non-insulin-dependent glucose disposal (glucose effectiveness [Sg]), and insulin-dependent glucose disposal (insulin sensitivity) in African immigrants with varying degrees of glucose tolerance. Thirty-two African immigrants residing in Franklin County, Ohio, were studied. There were 16 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), 11 with intermediate glucose tolerance (IGT), and 5 with type II diabetes mellitus (DM). ⋯ In summary, the authors demonstrate that, in native African immigrants, type II diabetes is associated with significant reduction in beta cell function, insulin sensitivity, and glucose decay constant, but not in Sg. In patients with intermediate or impaired glucose tolerance, there is moderate insulin resistance and evidence of inadequate compensation by beta cell, but the Sg, the Sg at theoretical insulin concentration, and glucose decay constant remain normal. They conclude that, unlike other ethnic and racial groups, in glucose intolerant native African patients, alterations in Sg or non-insulin dependent glucose disposal (ie, tissue glucose sensitivity) do not appear to play a significant role in the impairment of glucose tolerance and type II diabetes in African immigrants.
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A long term study of diversity between two ethnic groups was developed in Evans County, Georgia. The findings are predicated on the genotypic-phenotypic interactions, with the multitude of environmental factors. The genetic-environmental interaction ultimately determines the individual's state of health or disease. ⋯ Cultural adaptation has accelerated hypertensive disease and strokes in blacks, while there remains an excess of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease in white men. Secular trends suggest that coronary heart disease is decreasing among white men but may be increasing in black men. Studies of ethnicity and biracial populations provide important cardiovascular disease associations with clinical risk factor studies.