igher incidence of diabetes in African Americans compared to whites. African American women had fewer years of formal education; were more likely to have a family history of diabetes; were more overweight; and reported less physical activity during leisure time. Similar risk factors occurred in African American men, except they were not as likely to be overweight.
African American women who developed diabetes had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, were more likely to have hypertension, and had higher levels of insulin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but lower plasma triglycerides than white females. African American men who went on to develop diabetes had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, were more likely to have hypertension, and had slightly higher fasting levels of creatinine, uric acid, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but lower levels of glucose and triglycerides. However, most of the characteristics of those who went on to develop diabetes were different from their white counterparts in those who did not develop diabetes as well.
Insulin resistance is proving to be a common risk factor for diabetes and vascular disease (Brancoti, Kao, Folsom, Watson and Szklo, 1998). African Americans with diabetes are at a higher risk for end-stage renal disease, lower extremity amputation, and blindness than whites. All of these are strongly related to hyperglycemia and high blood pressure. This suggests that the high blood pressures and pattern of metabolic traits seen in African Americans in this study may contribute to their higher risk of diabetic microvascular complications in those who go on to develop diabetes.
It is well established that there is a difference between African Americans and whites in regard to cardiovascular disease (Lindquist, Gower and Goran, 2000). A study was conducted to see if dietary factors are responsible for the differences in serum lipids and i...