Are racial differences in the prevalence of diabetes in adults explained by differences in obesity?

Article Abstract:

Diabetes mellitus is a serious disease rated as the seventh most common cause of death in the US. Diabetes can cause complications including blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and limb amputation. Black Americans have a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus and approximately twice the mortality rate from diabetes compared to whites. The basis of these racial differences has not been determined. One important research question is whether higher rates of obesity among blacks lead to their greater incidence of diabetes. This survey evaluated 12,558 white and 1,677 black Vietnam veterans, age 30-47 years. Information collected included medical history as reported by the veterans, and for a sub-group, additional clinical examinations and laboratory tests. Blacks had a higher prevalence of diabetes than whites (3.0 versus 1.4 percent respectively) and this racial difference was not explained by adiposity (degree of fatness), age or socioeconomic status. Some participants had their fasting blood sugar tested, and more blacks had fasting hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) than whites. The data presented suggest that obesity does not account for the higher incidence of diabetes in blacks compared to whites.

Demographic aspects, African Americans, Diseases, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Obesity

---

Prenatal magnesium sulfate exposure and the risk for cerebral palsy or mental retardation among very low-birth-weight children aged 3 to 5 years

Article Abstract:

Giving pregnant women at risk of having a very low-birth-weight (VLBW) baby magnesium sulfate could substantially reduce the risk of cerebral palsy. Researchers followed 1,097 VLBW births in a 2-year period and the 519 infants who survived. Infants whose mothers took magnesium sulfate during labor had only one-tenth the risk of developing cerebral palsy by the age of 3 to 5. The risk of mental retardation was 70% lower. Magnesium sulfate did not lower mortality rates. Magnesium sulfate is commonly used in women who develop preeclampsia during labor or who labor prematurely.

Complications and side effects, Risk factors, Cerebral palsy, Infants (Premature), Birth weight, Low, Premature infants, Low birth weight, Mental retardation

---

Chemokine receptors and genetic variability: another leap in HIV research

Article Abstract:

Chemokine receptors appear to influence the infective ability of HIV and may affect the rate of HIV disease progression and AIDS. The virus may use several of these receptors to gain entry and infect cells. A mutation in the CCR5 receptor has been associated with resistance to HIV infection and slower disease progression. Researchers recently demonstrated the effect of variants in this receptor on the progression of HIV infection transmitted from pregnant women to their children. Research in chemokine receptors may produce novel therapies against HIV disease.

Editorial, Gene mutations, Gene mutation, HIV infection, HIV infections, HIV (Viruses), HIV, Genetic aspects, Cell receptors, Virus receptors

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Differences in the relationship between body fat and body mass index between two different Indonesian ethnic groups: the effect of body build
• Abstracts: Effect of additional questions about fat on the validity of fat estimates from a food frequency questionnaire
• Abstracts: Myoblast transfer in the treatment of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. A 51-year-old woman with lung cancer and neuropsychiatric abnormalities
• Abstracts: The girl with the curl. Racial differences in the survival of cadaveric renal allografts: overriding effects of HLA matching and socioeconomic factors
• Abstracts: Does previous Chlamydia trachomatis infection influence the pregnancy rate of in vitro fertilization and embryo replacement?

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.