The contribution of body composition to ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes

Aims: To compare type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence among three ethnic groups resident in the Netherlands: Ghanaians, African Surinamese and Dutch origin. Secondly, to determine the contribution of measures of body composition to ethnic differences in T2D. Methods: Baseline data from Ghanaian (n=1873), African Surinamese (n=2189) and Dutch (n=2151) origin participants of the HELIUS study (aged 18–70 years) were analysed. T2D was defined according to the WHO criteria. Logistic regression tested ethnic differences in T2D and the contribution of body fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio. Results: Among men, T2D prevalence was higher in Ghanaians (14.9%) than in African Surinamese (10.4%) and Dutch (5.0%). Among women, T2D prevalence in Ghanaian (11.1%) was higher than in Dutch (2.3%), but similar to African Surinamese (11.5%). After adjusting for age, body fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio, the odds ratios for having T2D were 1.55 (95%CI:1.12-2.15) for Ghanaian men compared with African Surinamese and 4.19 (95%CI:2.86-6.12) compared with Dutch. Among women these odds ratios were 0.94 (95%CI:0.70-1.26) and 4.78 (95%CI:2.82-8.11). Conclusions: The higher prevalence of T2D among Ghanaian compared with African Surinamese men suggests a need to distinguish between African descent populations when assessing their T2D risk. The higher odds for T2D among Ghanaians cannot be attributed to differences in body composition. Further research on the contribution of lifestyle factors as well as genetic and epigenetic factors is needed to identify the reasons for the observed disparities.