Research: PREVENTING DIABETES

Certain populations are known to be at particular risk of developing common diseases such as heart disease or diabetes. South Asians, for example, are particularly prone to type 2 diabetes. New research from Dr Peter Whincup and colleagues has revealed that signs of this susceptibility can be found in schoolchildren.

Dr Whincup's team at St George's Hospital Medical School, London, compared various metabolic measures – such as blood glucose levels, response to insulin and amounts of fat tissue – in British schoolchildren of European and south Asian origin.

The Asian children had significantly higher insulin and blood glucose levels. They also had slightly higher measures of fat tissue, but even when this was factored out, their insulin and blood glucose measures remained abnormally high.

The results suggest that the south Asian children are showing early signs of insulin resistance and raised blood glucose levels – classic signatures of type 2 diabetes. Whether the causes are genetic or environmental (or a combination) is unclear, but the findings suggest that diabetes prevention measures should be targeted particularly early in these populations.

External links

• Whincup PH et al. British South Asians aged 13–16 years have higher fasting glucose and insulin levels than Europeans. Diabet Med 2005;22(9):1275–7.