Offspring of Patients With Diabetes Exhibit a Clustering of Psychosocial Distress and Inflammatory and Metabolic Risk Factors

Family history of type 2 diabetes is associated with vascular, inflammatory, and metabolic abnormalities (1). Although psychological distress has been similarly associated with these same biological abnormalities (2) and found to significantly predict 20-year incidence of coronary heart disease (3), no study has examined the relationship of family history of diabetes with markers of psychological distress. We examined the relationship between parental history of diabetes and metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers and indicators of psychosocial distress (i.e., depression, hostility, anger, and social support) measured by validated self-report scales. Subjects were 68 nonsmoking and apparently healthy nondiabetic adults (aged 33 ± 10 years; 56% female; 40% minorities, 26% of whom were African American) …