Diabetes: Modifiable Risk Factors May Contribute to Racial Disparities

Modifiable risk factors in young adulthood may contribute to racial disparities in type 2 diabetes in black middle-aged adults, according to results of a new study.

Black individuals have double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with white individuals in the United States. To further better understand the modifiable risk factors associated with these racial disparities, the researchers observed black (n = 2066) and white (n = 2304) adults aged 18 to 30 years who did not have diabetes at baseline (1985-1986) and were participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study.

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Incident diabetes was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards modeling, adjusted for sex and other variables. Participants self-reported race and other factors, such as biological, neighborhood, psychosocial, and more domains.

After approximately 24.5-years follow-up, the researchers found that 504 participants had developed diabetes.

Results of the researchers’ initial analysis was congruent with previous research that black participants were nearly twice as likely to develop diabetes than white participants. Biological factors, such as fasting glucose and body mass index, had the strongest association with diabetes risk disparity between black and white participants.

However, after accounting for biological, neighborhood, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and behavioral risk factors over time, the disparity became less significant.

“In this cohort study comparing black and white participants, there was a statistically significant increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes among black women and men,” the researchers concluded. “However, after adjustment for modifiable risk factors during young adulthood, the disparity was no longer statistically significant.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Bancks MP, Kershaw K, Carson AP, Gordon-Larsen P, Schreiner PJ, Carnethon MR. Association of modifiable risk factors in young adulthood with racial disparity in incident type 2 diabetes during middle adulthood. 2017;318(24):2457-2465. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.19546.