title: Diabetes among Mexican Americans in Starr County, Texas.
abstract: An increasing body of evidence suggests that diabetes mellitus constitutes a major health burden among the Mexican-American population. For example, county-wide death rates in Texas attributable to diabetes from 1970-1981 range from 2.5-52.0 diabetes deaths per 1000 total deaths with the highest rates generally occurring in counties whose populations are more than 75% Spanish ancestry. To assess the prevalence and morbidity of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus among Mexican Americans, 14% of the Starr County, Texas, population (97% Mexican-American) was randomly sampled. The reference population, sampling strategy, and screening results are described. Age-specific prevalences of diabetes for males ranged from 0% in males aged 15-24 years to 17.6% in those above 75 years of age. Rates for females ranged from 0.4% in those aged 15-24 years to a high of 19.0% in the 55- to 64-year age group. In both sexes, the rates are relatively low for persons under age 45 with a sharp increase in those aged 45-54 years and high rates prevailing in the older age groups. Comparisons of the rates in Starr County to those of the general US population indicate a two- to fivefold greater risk in Starr County. In terms of impact on this community, these results imply that over 50% of individuals older than 35 years are directly affected by diabetes by virtue of their having the disease or by being a first-degree relative of a diabetic.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013781:Texas; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose