Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Obesity as Effect Modifiers of Ethnic Disparities of the Progression to Diabetes

Care.diabetesjournals.org: 8/24/12

The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) reported no racial/ethnic differences in the incidence of diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Therefore, it has been hypothesized that factors associated with racial/ethnic disparities act prior to the development of IGT. Because impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and obesity were also very prevalent in the DPP, we examined IGT, IFG, and obesity as effect modifiers of ethnic disparities in the San Antonio Heart Study.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Participants were 3,015 Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites aged 25–64 years. The median follow-up period was 7.8 years. IGT, IFG, and diabetes were defined by the 2003 American Diabetes Association criteria, and obesity was defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m².  Read more