December 1, 2008

Contact:
Jeremy Craig, 404-413-1357
University Relations

Study shows racial disparities in the links between waist lines, triglycerides and risk for type 2 diabetes

ATLANTA — A study conducted by a Georgia State University researcher and colleagues shows the need for public health messages specifically targeting African-Americans to help mitigate the increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Ike Okosun, a professor in Georgia State’s Institute of Public Health, and John M. Boltri of Mercer University examined the correlation between large waist lines, high levels of triglycerides — a type of fat molecule in the blood stream that is linked to cardiovascular disease — and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

They found that the combination of large waist circumferences (which, although imperfect, is a better measure of obesity than the body mass index alone) and elevated triglycerides, known as hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype, or HTGW, resulted higher risks for developing diabetes than either factor alone.

Additionally, there were wider disparities whites and blacks, and the disparities were the largest between white and black women.

“Most of our work shows that both abdominal obesity and elevated triglycerides are very important, but by themselves, we really cannot explain differences between whites and blacks for these conditions,” Okosun said. “So what we attempted to do was to ask whether there were excess risks beyond what one of those factors alone.”

The findings point to a need for better interventions, including education, tailor made and aimed toward African-American communities in reducing obesity — thereby reducing the risk for associated health problems, Okosun said.

“One fit for all is not going to be useful,” he said, adding that education needs to be focused on weight loss especially in the abdomen, where fat is more potent and drains more into the entire body, affecting the cardiovascular system and metabolism.

Okosun and Boltri’s study investigated data from 1,914 participants in the 2003-2004 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, provided by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Okosun and Boltri’s research appears in the December 2008 edition of Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews.