Diabetes Care, Vol 16, Issue 7 1004-1010, Copyright © 1993 by American Diabetes Association

ARTICLES

Obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia in a central Australian aboriginal community with a long history of acculturation

K O'Dea, M Patel, D Kubisch, J Hopper and K Traianedes
Department of Human Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the age- and sex-specific prevalence of diabetes and to examine associations between related anthropometric and metabolic abnormalities in an Aboriginal community in central Australia with a long history of acculturation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--We used a cross-sectional survey of 353 adults > 15 yr of age (87% response rate) and measured the following parameters: weight, height, circumferences of waist and hips; glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in fasting plasma; and plasma glucose and insulin 2 h after 75 g oral glucose. RESULTS--The prevalence of diabetes was 29.6% in survey participants > 35 yr of age and 5.3% in those < 35 yr of age. Impaired glucose tolerance also occurred with higher frequency in those > 35 yr of age (14.8 vs. 4.7%). Of those > 35 yr of age, 75% of the women and 51% of the men were overweight or obese, with a body mass index > or = 25 kg/m2. A large insulin response to oral glucose was evident, with the upper tertile of the 2-h insulin response six times higher than the lower tertile (113 +/- 43 vs. 19 +/- 8 mU/L). Hyperinsulinemia showed a strong, positive association with impaired glucose tolerance, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels and a negative association with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Cholesterol levels were on average 0.5 mM higher in men than in women. Deteriorations in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism occurred before 40 yr of age: diabetes, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and fasting triglycerides and cholesterol concentrations peaked and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations reached their nadir at the end of the fourth decade. CONCLUSIONS--These data suggest that any intervention programs developed to prevent or reduce diabetes prevalence in this population should be targeted at adolescents and young adults.
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