Diabetes prevalence in populations of South Asian Indian and African origins: a comparison of England and the Netherlands

Charles Agyemang, Anton E. Kunst, Raj Bhopal, Kenneth Anujuo, Paola Zaninotto, James Nazroo, Mary Nicolaou, Nigel Unwin, Irene van Valkengoed, William Ken Redekop, Karien Stronks

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Abstract

We determined whether the overall lower prevalence of type II diabetes in England versus the Netherlands is observed in South-Asian-Indian and African-Caribbean populations. Additionally, we assessed the contribution of health behavior, body size, and socioeconomic position to observed differences between countries. Secondary analyses of population-based standardized individual-level data of 3386 participants were conducted. Indian and African-Caribbean populations had higher prevalence rates of diabetes than whites in both countries. In cross-country comparisons (and similar to whites), Indians residing in England had a lower prevalence of diabetes than those residing in the Netherlands; the prevalence ratio (PR) was 0.35 (95% confidence interval = 0.22 to 0.55) in women and 0.74 (0.50 to 1.10) in men after adjustment for other covariates. Among people of African descent as well, diabetes prevalence was lower in England than in the Netherlands; for women, PR = 0.43 (0.20 to 0.89) and for men, 0.57 (0.21 to 1.49). : The increasing prevalence of diabetes after migration may be modified by the context in which ethnic minority groups live
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)563-567
JournalEpidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

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