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. 2011 Aug;93(2):248-254.
doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2011.05.025. Epub 2011 Jun 12.

Type 2 diabetes: identifying high risk Asian American subgroups in a clinical population

Elsie J Wang  1 , Eric C Wong  1 , Anjali A Dixit  2 , Stephen P Fortmann  3 , Randolph B Linde  4 , Latha P Palaniappan  5
Affiliations

Type 2 diabetes: identifying high risk Asian American subgroups in a clinical population

Elsie J Wang et al. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2011 Aug.

Abstract

Aims: We compared the prevalence and treatment of type 2 diabetes across Asian American subgroups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese) and Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) in a Northern California healthcare system.

Methods: A three-year, cross-sectional sample of patient electronic health records was accessed to compare diabetes prevalence in 21,816 Asian and 73,728 NHWs aged 35+ years. Diabetes was classified through ICD-9 codes, abnormal laboratory values, or use of oral anti-diabetic medication. Multivariate adjusted prevalence rates for each Asian subgroup, and adjusted odds ratios (OR) relative to NHWs, were compared.

Results: Age-adjusted prevalence ranged from 5.8% to 18.2% (women) and 8.1 to 25.3% (men). Age-adjusted ORs of Asian subgroups ranged 1.11-3.94 (women) and 1.14-4.56 (men). The odds of diabetes were significantly higher in Asian Indians (women OR 3.44, men OR 3.54) and Filipinos (women OR 3.94, men OR 4.56), compared to NHWs. Results for Asian Indians and Filipinos were similar with age-and-BMI adjustment. Treatment rates across subgroups were 59.7-82.0% (women) and 62.9-79.4% (men).

Conclusions: Heterogeneity exists in the prevalence of diabetes across Asian subgroups, independent of obesity prevalence. Asian Indian and Filipino subgroups had particularly high prevalence of diabetes when compared to NHWs. Future studies should explore these clinically important differences among Asian subgroups.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-adjusted and age-and-BMI adjusted odds ratios of type 2 diabetes by sex and Asian American subgroup, compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). The diamond indicates the point estimate and the bar represents the 95% confidence interval. Filled diamonds indicate statistical significance compared to NHWs at (P<0.05)
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