Association Between Parental History of Type 2 Diabetes and Glycemic Control in Urban African Americans

Abstract

OBJECTIVE —The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parental history of type 2 diabetes and glycemic control among diabetic urban African Americans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —Study participants included 359 African Americans with type 2 diabetes from Baltimore, Maryland, enrolled in Project Sugar 2. Participants underwent an interview-administrated questionnaire that asked about family history, sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, and knowledge and perception of adequate glycemic control. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between parental history of diabetes and glycemic control, as measured by A1C. RESULTS —In the comparisons between participants with and without a parental history of diabetes, those with a positive parental history tended to be younger, have higher glucose levels, and have higher blood glucose levels before calling a doctor (all P < 0.05). After adjustments for age, sex, and BMI, there was a significant association ( P = 0.02) between A1C and parental history with the mean A1C difference between those with a positive and a negative parental history being 0.58%. However, after adjustment for duration of diabetes, the association was no longer significant ( P = 0.11). However, there was a tendency for individuals with two diabetic parents to have higher A1C ( P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS —From these results, we conclude that among the urban African American participants who were aware of their parental history of diabetes, a positive parental history was associated with worse glycemic control, partly due to longer duration of diabetes. Parental history did not appear to be associated with better knowledge or perception of adequate glycemic control.

Plasma C-peptide level is inversely associated with family history of type 2 diabetes in Korean type 2 diabetic patients

“…Our results suggest that the patients with a family history of diabetes may be more associated with atherogenic lipid profiles, which are not typical in type 2 diabetic patients. Unlike a previous report [21] showing inadequate glycemic control in patients with a family history of diabetes, our results showed that there were no significant differences in glycemic control between the patients with a family history of diabetes and those without a family history. It is noteworthy, in our study, that the degree of glycemic control was not affected by the strength of a family history, despite the significant difference of diabetes duration and fasting plasma C-peptide concentrations.…”

Impact of Family History of Diabetes onβ-Cell Function and Insulin Resistance Among Chinese with Normal Glucose Tolerance

“…39 Our results also support a recent study examining the association between parental history of T2DM and glycemic control. 40 So we conclude that obtaining the family history of the disease is crucial in identifying and targeting high-risk patients with diabetes who may require more stringent lifestyle changes as well as pharmaceutical intervention.…”

Maternal Family History of Diabetes Is Associated With a Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women With Type 2 Diabetes

“…Patients with familial diabetes have relatively poor glycemic control, but few other clinical differences have been reported (4,5,9,10). An early age of onset and poor glycemic control would both be expected to have a negative impact on the development of chronic complications, but no such longitudinal data have been published.…”