Impaired Glucose Tolerance, Hyperinsulinemia, and Hypertriglyceridemia in Australian Aborigines From the Desert

Abstract

A cross section of adult full-blooded Aborigines from three small isolated communities in the desert region of northwest Australia was surveyed for diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), insulin levels, and lipoprotein lipids. Sixty-three men and 86 women from a total adult population of 330 were tested. Of the people tested, 67.6% had normal glucose tolerance, 25% had IGT, and 7.4% had diabetes. Both diabetes and IGT were strongly age related. Fasting insulin levels and insulin responses to oral glucose (elevation above basal) were elevated. Although fasting insulin rose with age, insulin response did not rise after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). Plasma triglyceride levels were high, particularly in men greater than 35 yr old (3.13 +/- 0.32 mM), but cholesterol levels were not elevated. Multiple regression analysis of fasting glucose, 2-h glucose, plasma triglyceride, fasting insulin, and insulin response for the nondiabetic subjects revealed 1) BMI was an independent risk factor for elevated 2-h glucose levels in women but not in men and was strongly related to fasting insulin concentrations in both genders; 2) fasting insulin concentration was an independent risk factor for increases in fasting glucose, insulin response, and triglyceride levels; 3) insulin response was related to the 2-h glucose level; 4) fasting and 2-h glucose levels and fasting insulin and triglyceride concentrations all rose with age in both genders, with the rate of increase generally greater in men. The most striking difference between these desert Aborigines and previously studied coastal Aborigines from the same geographical region was the significantly higher insulin response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

New World Syndrome in Western Australian Aborigines

“…There had been substantial increases in the prevalence of diabetes, hyperchoiesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia, but little change in the rates of impaired glucose tolerance (Table 3). O'Dea et al (1988) studied desert dwelling Aborigines from three very isolated communities in north-west Australia. Of the 63 men and 86 women (from a total adult population of 330), 7.4% had diabetes and 25% had impaired glucose tolerance; both conditions were strongly age-related.…”

Lack of age‐related increase in average glycemia in a non‐Westernized sample of rural Yucatec Maya females

“…Nonetheless, given the restricted environmental variance represented by Western samples that generally share an industrialized, mechanized existence (Corruccini and Kaul, 1983), the influences of aging compared to those of lifestyle and body composition on blood glucose changes with age remain unclear. Epidemiological studies addressing glucose processing in non-Westernized settings (e.g., O'Dea et al, 1988 on Australian Aborigines; Szathmá ry, 1989 on Dogrib Indians; Zimmet et al, 1983 on Fijians) did not focus on older individuals or patterns with age. Conversely, epidemiological research on age-related changes in glucose regulation includes a wider age range but is usually restricted to select, affluent Western samples (as in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, which provides the database for the work of Shimokata et al, 1991 and others).…”

Anthropometric measurements of Australian Aboriginal adults living in remote areas: Comparison with nationally representative findings

“…Preferential central fat deposition has been noted in previous studies of Aborigines, (Jones and White, 1994;O'Dea et al, 1982;O'Dea et al, 1988a;O'Dea et al, 1988b;Phillips and Kubisch, 1985;Rutishauser and McKay, 1986;Rutishauser, 1995), as well as in several other populations, including Asians and African Americans. Many have speculated on its causes and biologic significance.…”